Active Exploitation Attempts Target WSO2 API Manager JWT Bypass With Forged Admin Tokens
A critical security flaw in WSO2 API Manager has come under active exploitation in the wild, according to findings from watchTowr. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-5430 (CVSS score: 9.8/10.0), is a case of improper verification of a cryptographic signature that could result in account takeover. Hacktron Team has been credited with discovering and reporting the flaw. "JWT authentication can be bypassed when a token is signed using an unsupported algorithm, allowing unauthorized access," according to an advisory released by WSO2 in May 2026. "Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may lead to unauthorized access, including potential compromise of administrative accounts and full account takeover." The shortcoming affects the following products - WSO2 API Control Plane: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 WSO2 API Manager: 4.6.0, 4.5.0, 4.4.0, 4.3.0, 4.2.0, 4.1.0 WSO2 Traffic Manager: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 WSO2 Universal Gateway: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 Fixes are available...
Sep 16, 2026