---
title: "CVE-2026-78626: Okta Access Gateway - Authorization Bypass"
description: "Okta Access Gateway contains an authorization bypass caused by improper input sanitization and regex evaluation in Protected Rule authorization checks, letting attackers bypass authorization when Protected Rule policies are configured."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-78626/
---

# CVE-2026-78626 Okta Access Gateway - Authorization Bypass

Okta Access Gateway contains an authorization bypass caused by improper input sanitization and regex evaluation in Protected Rule authorization checks, letting attackers bypass authorization when Protected Rule policies are configured.

CVSS base score 8.1 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Required

EPSS

0.36% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78626)

## Details

Type

Authorization Bypass

Impact

Broken Access Control

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Published

8 September 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-863](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/863.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to the latest version with fixed input sanitization and regex evaluation in Protected Rule authorization checks.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78626](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78626)
- [https://trust.okta.com/security-advisories/improper-input-sanitization-in-okta-access-gateway-protected-rules-cve-2026-78626](https://trust.okta.com/security-advisories/improper-input-sanitization-in-okta-access-gateway-protected-rules-cve-2026-78626)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

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