CVE-2026-78038: Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes vulnerability in ash-project ash_oban allows a user whose input reaches the :args

Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes vulnerability in ash-project ash_oban allows a user whose input reaches the :args

Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes vulnerability in ash-project ash_oban allows a user whose input reaches the :args option of AshOban.build_trigger/3 to retarget an update or destroy trigger at another record, including across tenants. build_trigger/3 builds the trusted job arguments with atom keys (:primary_key, :tenant, :action_arguments) and merges the caller's :args underneath so the trusted values win on collision. Because Oban job arguments round-trip through JSON, the caller's keys arrive as strings, so Map.merge sees no collision and both keys survive. When the job is persisted the JSON object is de-duplicated keeping the last (string) key, and the worker reads the caller's value. The documentation describes :args as unable to affect the action, so an application that forwards user input into it for uniqueness scoping is exposed to authorization bypass and tenant isolation breaks. This issue affects ash_oban: from 0.2.5 before 0.8.14.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db

What it means for a small business

If your business uses ash_oban, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.38%, higher than 31% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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