Better Auth is an authentication and authorization library for TypeScript. Prior to 1.6.11, Better Auth's OAuth callback auto-link gate in handleOAuthUserInfo accepts implicit account linking when the OAuth provider asserts email_verified: true without requiring the local user row's emailVerified field to also be true, allowing an attacker who pre-registers a victim email through /sign-up/email to bind the victim's OAuth identity to the attacker's account. The same primitive affects one-tap, and emailAndPassword.requireEmailVerification: true does not mitigate the link-time verification change. This issue is fixed in version 1.6.11.
CVE-2026-53516
HIGHPre-NVD 8.38.3—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence
This high-severity CVE scores 8.3 under a secondary CVSS source (NVD's own analysis pending). EPSS exploit probability: 0.2%, top 85% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, secondary
8.3
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 0%CVSS: 8.3Exploit: NoneExposed: 0
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 8.3
- EG Score
- 8.3(medium)
- EG Risk
- —
- EPSS
- 14.1%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
July 7, 2026
Last Modified
July 21, 2026
Advisory Details (4)
Auto-updated Jul 15, 2026Patch available. Sources: github_commit, github_pr, github_release, github.
github Patch Available
core: pre-account hijacking via OAuth implicit linking (nOAuth-class) · Advisory · better-auth/better-auth · GitHub
https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/security/advisories/GHSA-g38m-r43w-p2q7github_release Patch Available
v1.6.11
Patch available: better-auth/better-auth v1.6.11
https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.11github_pr
fix(oauth): block OAuth linking to unverified local accounts
Fix merged in better-auth/better-auth PR #9578 on 2026-05-12 — awaiting tagged release
https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/pull/9578github_commit
commit da7e50beee84 (better-auth/better-auth)
Fix landed in better-auth/better-auth commit da7e50beee84 — awaiting tagged release
https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/commit/da7e50beee849c59a2ed1ec6b3a38cc6ab9fb563Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-53516(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
npm(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| better-auth | — | 1.6.11 | — |
Weakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 9× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-22 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-21 15:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-20 17:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 14:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 14:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 02:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 10:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-16 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-07 21:13 UTCEG score recompute
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-53516?
CVE-2026-53516 is a high vulnerability published on July 7, 2026. Better Auth is an authentication and authorization library for TypeScript. Prior to 1.6.11, Better Auth's OAuth callback auto-link gate in handleOAuthUserInfo accepts implicit account linking when the OAuth provider asserts email_verified: true without requiring the local user row's emailVerified…
When was CVE-2026-53516 disclosed?
CVE-2026-53516 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on July 7, 2026, with the most recent update on July 21, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-53516 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-53516 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 14.1% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-53516?
CVE-2026-53516 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.3 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-53516?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-53516, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2026-53516
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-53516?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.