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Research Reveals Vulnerability in FIDO Passkey Authentication

8/15/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers at Proofpoint identified a downgrade attack that can bypass FIDO-based passkey authentication.
The attack takes advantage of fallback methods when users switch from FIDO to weaker options.
Although not yet seen in practice, it presents a potential risk as FIDO usage grows.
Proofpoint advises implementing FIDO-only authentication and monitoring browser anomalies to reduce risks.

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Story summary

Researchers at Proofpoint identified a downgrade attack that can bypass FIDO-based passkey authentication.
The attack takes advantage of fallback methods when users switch from FIDO to weaker options.
Although not yet seen in practice, it presents a potential risk as FIDO usage grows.
Proofpoint advises implementing FIDO-only authentication and monitoring browser anomalies to reduce risks.