phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 Authentication Bypass via Two-Factor Disable
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in its two-factor authentication (TOTP) disable functionality. The removeTwofactorConfig() handler (reachable via POST /api/user/remove-twofactor) verifies only that the user is logged in and that a valid CSRF token is supplied, then disables TOTP without requiring password re-entry or a current TOTP code. The same downgrade is also reachable inline via PUT /api/user/data/update, which accepts a plain twofactor_enabled form field under the same session+CSRF-only guard. An attacker who has hijacked a user's session can silently strip two-factor protection from any account, including administrator accounts, after which password-only authentication succeeds.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA phpMyFAQ (thorsten) Fixed in 4.1.8
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
thorsten phpMyFAQ 4.1.8
7 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 3 MEDIUM, 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-58717 phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 Authorization Bypass via question/createPriority MEDIUM 61
- TI-2026-58712 phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 Incorrect Authorization via Admin PagesPriority MEDIUM 57
- TI-2026-58711 phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 CAPTCHA Bypass via store parameterPriority LOW 37
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-85590
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x283-48fh-hc5w
References
More thorsten vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-00296 Improper Authentication in thorsten/phpmyfaq CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-76118 Authentication bypass in phpMyFAQ via WebAuthn credential injection CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-32868 phpMyFAQ - Unauthenticated Two-Factor Authentication Brute-Force via /admin/check Endpoint CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2026-76108 Unauthenticated denial of service in phpMyFAQ API pagination CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-53313 phpMyFAQ 3.1.0 through 4.1.6 Authentication Bypass via LDAP CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-34083 phpMyFAQ - Unauthenticated Information Disclosure via getIdFromSolutionId Permission Bypass CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-85590 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-85590 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x283-48fh-hc5w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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