⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● Medium · CVSS 6.9

How to Fix CVE-2026-37980: Cross-site scripting in Red Hat Build of Keycloak

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

⚡ At a glance
Severity6.9 (Medium)
Actively exploited?No public listing in CISA KEV
AffectedRed Hat
Fixed inSee vendor advisory
Type (CWE)CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

What is CVE-2026-37980?

A flaw was found in Keycloak, specifically in the organization selection login page. A remote attacker with manage-realm or manage-organizations administrative privileges can exploit a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This flaw occurs because the organization.alias is placed into an inline JavaScript onclick handler, allowing a crafted JavaScript payload to execute in a user's browser when they view the login page. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary JavaScript execution, potentially leading to session theft, unauthorized account actions, or further attacks against users of the affected realm.

Am I affected?

Run the version check that matches your platform:


# Linux
dpkg -s red 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
rpm -q red 2>/dev/null
red --version 2>/dev/null

Compare what you see against the Affected row above (Red Hat). If your build sits inside that range, you are exposed and should patch.

How to fix CVE-2026-37980

The primary fix is to upgrade Red Hat Build of Keycloak to the patched build. Use the commands for your platform below; the patched version listed in the vendor advisory is: See vendor advisory.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade red
red --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s red | grep -i version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --security red -y
rpm -q red

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper patch --category security
rpm -q red

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-37980 affecting Red Hat Build of Keycloak
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-37980-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detecting installed version of Red Hat Build of Keycloak"
    $pkg = winget list --id "Red_Hat_Build_of_Keycloa" 2>$null
    Write-Host $pkg

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\Red_Hat_Build_of_Keycloa-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Red_Hat_Build_of_Keycloa" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Applying upgrade to latest"
    winget upgrade --id "Red_Hat_Build_of_Keycloa" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    # Fallback: Windows Update for OS-level fixes
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
    winget list --id "Red_Hat_Build_of_Keycloa"
    Write-Host "Fix applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-37980 affecting Red Hat Build of Keycloak
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-37980-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detecting installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s red 2>/dev/null | grep -i version || echo "red not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q red || echo "red not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-37980-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/red /etc/red.d /etc/red.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Applying upgrade (target: latest)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y red
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --security -y red
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y red
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive patch --category security
fi

echo "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s red 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q red
fi
echo "Done. Restart any running daemons that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

If you cannot apply the patched version today, restrict exposure with one of the following runnable controls. None replace the patch.

Network restriction (Linux, nftables)


# Block inbound traffic to the affected service from untrusted networks
sudo nft add table inet filter
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }'
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {443, 80} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Service-level fallback


# If the affected feature is optional, stop the service until the patch is applied
sudo systemctl stop red
sudo systemctl disable red

How to verify the fix worked


# Linux
red --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s red | grep -i version
rpm -q red 2>/dev/null || true


# Windows
winget list | findstr /I "red"
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above the patched build documented in the advisory. Restart any services that loaded the old library (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, restart the Windows service or reboot when prompted). For network appliances, run show version on the device and confirm the build matches the patched release.

Frequently asked questions

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

Is CVE-2026-37980 actually being exploited?

According to the data sources above, no public confirmation of in-the-wild exploitation at this time. Either way, the fix is the same: apply the vendor patch.

Do I need to reboot after patching?

For OS or kernel updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough. Any process that loaded the old shared library keeps using it until restarted, so when in doubt, reboot.

What is the CVSS score?

6.9 (medium). Refer to the vendor advisory for the exact vector string.

Where is the official advisory?

See the References section at the bottom of this page; the vendor's URL is the authoritative source for affected builds and patched versions.

References

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*