LimeSurvey RemoteControl invite_participants/remind_participants SQL Injection
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- SQL injection
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-89.
Summary
The RemoteControl API methods invite_participants and remind_participants pass a caller-supplied token-ID array into TokenDynamic::findUninvited(), which concatenates the values directly into a tid IN ('...') SQL clause without parameterization or input validation. A remote, authenticated attacker holding the tokens/update permission on a survey can inject a crafted array element to perform SQL injection. Because LimeSurvey configures its PDO connection with emulated prepared statements (emulatePrepare = true) and does not disable MySQL multi-statements, the injection supports stacked queries: the attacker can append arbitrary additional statements (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/DROP/CREATE) after the original SELECT. This permits both arbitrary read of any data in the database, such as administrator bcrypt password hashes (lime_users), survey response PII, session records, and global settings, all recoverable via a SLEEP() time-based blind oracle, and arbitrary write/destruction of that data, including directly overwriting the administrator password hash for immediate account takeover or dropping/truncating tables. Reads and writes extend to any schema the application's database user can access. The RemoteControl interface (RPCInterface = json/xml) must be enabled, which is not the default.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LimeSurvey | LimeSurvey | up to 7.0 | 7.0.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | limesurvey/limesurvey (Packagist) | up to 7.0.0-beta1 | — | No fix listed | GHSA-pr6f-87hf-hx24 |
- LimeSurvey VendorLimeSurvey Affected up to 7.0 Fixed in 7.0.1 Patch available CNA
- limesurvey/limesurvey (Packagist) Vendor— Affected up to 7.0.0-beta1 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-pr6f-87hf-hx24
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:limesurvey:limesurvey:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | LimeSurvey |
- cpe:2.3:a:limesurvey:limesurvey:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·LimeSurvey
Remediation
- Fix · CNA LimeSurvey (LimeSurvey) Fixed in 7.0.1
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-50636
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pr6f-87hf-hx24
References
Patch 1
More LimeSurvey vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-09194 LimeSurvey before 4.1.12+200324 contains a path traversal vulnerability in… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-24280 LimeSurvey 2.0+ - 2.06+ Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Download via Serialized Backup Payload CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2024-28662 An issue in the js_localize.php function of LimeSurvey v6.6.2 and before allows attackers… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2024-26167 Lime Survey <= 6.5.12 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF). CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-45174 LimeSurvey Community Edition 7.0.5 - Reflected XSS in HTML editor popup CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.5
- TI-2026-61986 LimeSurvey Community Edition 7.0.14 - Reflected XSS through unescaped LSS survey-import warnings CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-50636 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-50636 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pr6f-87hf-hx24 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences