# CVE-2026-21891: ZimaOS has Authentication Bypass via System-Level Username

- Exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-01-08
- CVSS: 9.4 CRITICAL (v3.1)
- EPSS: 2.3% (83th percentile)
- CWE: CWE-287

ZimaOS is a fork of CasaOS, an operating system for Zima devices and x86-64 systems with UEFI. In versions up to and including 1.5.0, the application checks the validity of the username but appears to skip, misinterpret, or incorrectly validate the password when the provided username matches a known system service account. The application's login function fails to properly handle the password validation result for these users, effectively granting authenticated access to anyone who knows one of these common usernames and provides any password. As of time of publication, no known patched versions are available.

## Edge WAF coverage (claimed by vendors, not measured)

| Vendor | Status | First rule | Days after publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | No public claim | — | — |
| AWS | No public claim | — | — |
| Microsoft Azure | No public claim | — | — |
| Google Cloud | No public claim | — | — |
| Fastly | Before feed history | — | — |
| F5 | Rule published | 2026-07-07 | 180 |
| Akamai | No public source | — | — |
| OWASP CRS | No public claim | — | — |

### F5

- 2026-07-07 · new · rule 200013187
  > Added: signature 200013187 "ZimaOS Authentication Bypass" (Authentication/Authorization Attacks, risk High), systems: Other Web Server. References: CVE-2026-21891.
  Source: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs-v2/platform/changelogs/security-details-changelog

## Our test (measured)

- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 1, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2026-21891, 2026-11-02
- OWASP Core Rule Set 4.25.0, paranoia level 2, anomaly threshold 5, default CRS settings: passed (0 of 1 requests blocked), template CVE-2026-21891, 2026-11-02

"No public claim" means no vendor statement names this CVE; "Before feed history" means the CVE is older than the vendor feed. In both cases generic rules may still block it.

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