
POC for CVE-2026-4444 demonstrating JWT algorithm confusion via untrusted kid injection, including vulnerable Node.js server and Python exploit for token forgery and privilege escalation.
// jwt_server.js - Vulnerable JWT verification server
const express = require('express');
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const jwksClient = require('jwks-rsa');
const axios = require('axios');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
// Normally fetches public key from a JWKS endpoint, but vulnerable kid handling
async function getPublicKey(kid) {
// Attacker can inject a kid that points to their own URL
if (kid.startsWith('http://') || kid.startsWith('https://')) {
// Fetch the key from attacker-controlled URL (INSECURE!)
const response = await axios.get(kid);
return response.data.publicKey; // expects PEM
}
// Otherwise use local JWKS (simulated)
return `-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAu1SU1LfVLPHCYZM5rPY4
...
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----`;
}
app.post('/api/verify', async (req, res) => {
const token = req.body.token;
const decoded = jwt.decode(token, { complete: true });
const kid = decoded.header.kid;
try {
const publicKey = await getPublicKey(kid);
const payload = jwt.verify(token, publicKey, { algorithms: ['RS256','HS256'] });
res.json({ status: 'authenticated', user: payload.sub });
} catch (e) {
res.status(401).json({ error: e.message });
}
});
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('JWT server on :3000'));
A JWT verification service blindly trusts the kid header to locate the public key, allowing an attacker to supply a URL pointing to their own key. This leads to full token forgery and privilege escalation.
kid URI without validating that it belongs to a trusted origin.node jwt_server.js
python exploit_jwt_kid.py