---
id: CVE-2026-57520
title: Bitwarden Server < 2026.5.0 Privilege Escalation via Bulk User Remove Endpoint
summary: >-
  Bitwarden Server before 2026.5.0 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability
  that allows authenticated Custom users with ManageUsers permission to remove
  Admin accounts from an organization by exploiting a missing role hierarchy
  check …
severity: high
cvss: 7.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-862
vendor: bitwarden
product: server
affected:
  - server < 2026.5.0
ssvc:
  exploitation: poc
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-06-30T03:30:43.781292Z'
exploitAvailable: true
published: '2026-06-25'
updated: '2026-11-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-08T14:06:31.404Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-57520'
references:
  - url: 'https://sanjokkarki.com.np/blog/bitwarden-bulk-remove-admin'
  - url: 'https://github.com/bitwarden/server/releases/tag/v2026.5.0'
    label: server 2026.5.0 Release Notes
  - url: 'https://github.com/bitwarden/server/pull/7526'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/bitwarden/server/commit/901bb67157c0f80d369c40b76742fdf7623da4e4
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bitwarden-server-privilege-escalation-via-bulk-user-remove-endpoint
tags:
  - cve.org
  - exploit-available
epss: 0.00639
epssPercentile: 0.50872
ingestedAt: '2026-11-08T14:51:22.326Z'
---

## Overview

Bitwarden Server before 2026.5.0 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated Custom users with ManageUsers permission to remove Admin accounts from an organization by exploiting a missing role hierarchy check in the bulk user-remove endpoint. Attackers can supply Admin organization-user IDs in a bulk DELETE request to bypass the guard enforced on the single-user removal path, effectively removing one or more Admin accounts from an organization.

## Affected

- `server < 2026.5.0`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.