Authentication bypass vulnerability in Stela, versions prior to 1.60.1, due to the use of a cookie named “authProcess” without validating its integrity. The application stores the user identifier (userId) and the status of the authentication process (validSteps) in this cookie and relies on these values—which can be modified by the client—to complete the login process.
A remote attacker, without valid credentials or interaction from other users, could manipulate the cookie to bypass authentication checks and impersonate any account, including one with SUPER_ADMIN privileges. This would allow the attacker to obtain a valid JWT token with administrative privileges and compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the application.
The product relies on the existence or values of cookies when performing security-critical operations, but it does not properly ensure that the setting is valid for the associated user.