CVE-2026-33470: Frigate NVR Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-33470 Overview

CVE-2026-33470 is an Authorization Bypass vulnerability affecting Frigate, a network video recorder (NVR) with realtime local object detection for IP cameras. In version 0.17.0, a low-privilege authenticated user restricted to one camera can access snapshots from other cameras through a chain of two authorization problems.

Critical Impact

Restricted users can enumerate event IDs from unauthorized cameras and fetch clean snapshots, bypassing intended camera access controls and potentially exposing sensitive video surveillance data.

Affected Products

• Frigate NVR version 0.17.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-26 - CVE CVE-2026-33470 published to NVD
• 2026-03-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-33470

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from Missing Authorization (CWE-862) in Frigate's API endpoints. The security flaw exists due to improper validation of camera access permissions across two related API endpoints, creating an authorization bypass chain that allows restricted users to access data beyond their intended scope.

The vulnerability allows an authenticated user with limited camera access to view snapshots from cameras they should not have permission to access. This represents a horizontal privilege escalation where users can access resources belonging to other camera scopes within the same privilege level.

Root Cause

The root cause involves two separate authorization failures working in combination:

1. The /api/timeline endpoint returns timeline entries for cameras outside the caller's allowed camera set, leaking event IDs that should be restricted.

2. The /api/events/{event_id}/snapshot-clean.webp endpoint declares Depends(require_camera_access) but never actually validates event.camera after looking up the event. This means while the endpoint claims to require camera access verification, the implementation fails to check whether the requesting user has access to the specific camera associated with the event.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low-privilege authentication. An attacker exploits this vulnerability through the following sequence:

First, the attacker queries the /api/timeline endpoint, which improperly returns timeline entries for all cameras regardless of the user's restricted camera set. From these entries, the attacker can enumerate event IDs associated with cameras they should not have access to.

Next, using the harvested event IDs, the attacker makes requests to /api/events/{event_id}/snapshot-clean.webp. Despite the endpoint's declared dependency on camera access validation, the actual implementation fails to verify that the user has permission to access the camera associated with the requested event. This allows the attacker to successfully retrieve clean snapshots from unauthorized cameras.

For technical details, see the GitHub Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-33470

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual API access patterns where a restricted user queries timeline or snapshot endpoints for cameras outside their permitted set
• High volume of /api/events/{event_id}/snapshot-clean.webp requests from single user accounts
• Access logs showing timeline queries followed by rapid snapshot requests for multiple event IDs
• Authentication logs indicating restricted users accessing resources for unauthorized camera identifiers

Detection Strategies

• Monitor API access logs for users requesting timeline data or snapshots from cameras not in their allowed camera set
• Implement anomaly detection for unusual patterns of event ID enumeration followed by snapshot retrieval
• Alert on authenticated users accessing multiple camera resources beyond their configured permissions
• Review audit logs for horizontal access patterns where users access peer-level resources

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed API request logging for the /api/timeline and /api/events/ endpoints
• Configure alerts for authorization failures or suspicious access patterns in Frigate logs
• Implement rate limiting on snapshot retrieval endpoints to slow enumeration attacks
• Regularly audit user camera permissions against actual access logs

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-33470

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Frigate to version 0.17.1 or later immediately
• Review access logs for any evidence of exploitation prior to patching
• Audit user accounts and their camera access restrictions to ensure proper configuration
• Consider temporarily disabling multi-user access if upgrade cannot be performed immediately

Patch Information

Version 0.17.1 fixes this authorization bypass vulnerability. The patch addresses both issues by ensuring the /api/timeline endpoint properly filters results based on the caller's allowed camera set, and by implementing proper validation of event.camera against user permissions in the /api/events/{event_id}/snapshot-clean.webp endpoint.

For complete patch details, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to the Frigate web interface to trusted networks only until patching is complete
• Temporarily disable restricted user accounts until the upgrade to version 0.17.1 can be completed
• Implement network-level access controls to limit API endpoint exposure
• Use a reverse proxy with additional authorization checks as a temporary mitigation layer

# Upgrade Frigate to patched version
docker pull ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:0.17.1
docker-compose down && docker-compose up -d