CVE-2026-27586

Caddy's mTLS client authentication silently fails open when CA certificate file is missing or malformed

Published Feb 24, 2026 CVSS 4.0 · 8.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. Prior to version 2.11.1, two swallowed errors in `ClientAuthentication.provision()` cause mTLS client certificate authentication to silently fail open when a CA certificate file is missing, unreadable, or malformed. The server starts without error but accepts any client certificate signed by any system-trusted CA, completely bypassing the intended private CA trust boundary. Any deployment using `trusted_ca_cert_file` or `trusted_ca_certs_pem_files` for mTLS will silently degrade to accepting any system-trusted client certificate if the CA file becomes unavailable. This can happen due to a typo in the path, file rotation, corruption, or permission changes. The server gives no indication that mTLS is misconfigured. Version 2.11.1 fixes the vulnerability.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-hffm-g8v7-wrv7 Caddy: mTLS client authentication silently fails open when CA certificate file is missing or malformed
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:caddyserver:caddy:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Caddyserver
Caddyserver caddy
Vendors & Products Caddyserver
Caddyserver caddy
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. Prior to version 2.11.1, two swallowed errors in `ClientAuthentication.provision()` cause mTLS client certificate authentication to silently fail open when a CA certificate file is missing, unreadable, or malformed. The server starts without error but accepts any client certificate signed by any system-trusted CA, completely bypassing the intended private CA trust boundary. Any deployment using `trusted_ca_cert_file` or `trusted_ca_certs_pem_files` for mTLS will silently degrade to accepting any system-trusted client certificate if the CA file becomes unavailable. This can happen due to a typo in the path, file rotation, corruption, or permission changes. The server gives no indication that mTLS is misconfigured. Version 2.11.1 fixes the vulnerability.
Title Caddy's mTLS client authentication silently fails open when CA certificate file is missing or malformed
Weaknesses CWE-755
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Feb 26, 2026, 8:56 PM
Reserved
Feb 20, 2026, 5:40 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Feb 24, 2026, 5:29 PM
Modified
Jun 17, 2026, 10:27 AM