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Privilege escalation in phpMyFAQ via updateUserRights

Priority MEDIUM 64CWE-269Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
None
Impact type
Privilege escalation
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
Low · High · None
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-269.

Summary

phpMyFAQ from 4.2.0-alpha.2 before 4.2.0-beta has a privilege escalation flaw in UserController::updateUserRights, which drops per-right language restrictions when rights are granted again. An administrator with USER_EDIT can submit language-scoped rights to the update-rights API, including for their own account, to gain unrestricted create, edit and publish access to FAQs in all languages. The CVSS 4.0 vector requires high privileges over the network with low complexity and no user interaction. A public proof of concept is reported in CISA's SSVC data, but the flaw is not listed in CISA KEV.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28

Description from the CNA

phpMyFAQ from 4.2.0-alpha.2 before 4.2.0-beta contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in UserController::updateUserRights that drops per-right language restrictions when rights are re-granted. Administrators holding USER_EDIT can submit language-scoped rights to the update-rights API, including for themselves, to gain unrestricted FAQ create, edit, and publish access across all languages.

Why it matters now

Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00283 20th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed phpMyFAQ (thorsten): 4.2.0-beta

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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
thorstenphpMyFAQ4.2.0-alpha.2 to before 4.2.0-beta4.2.0-betaPatch availableCNA
  • phpMyFAQ Vendorthorsten Affected 4.2.0-alpha.2 to before 4.2.0-beta Fixed in 4.2.0-beta Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:phpmyfaq:phpmyfaq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——thorsten
  • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyfaq:phpmyfaq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·thorsten

Remediation

Upgrade phpMyFAQ to version 4.2.0-beta or later, which fixes the flaw.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28

  • Fix · CNA phpMyFAQ (thorsten) Fixed in 4.2.0-beta

Fixed in the same release

Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.

  • Release ·

    thorsten phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-beta

    24 records Highest priority Priority HIGH 10 HIGH, 10 MEDIUM, 4 LOW

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-76108 Unauthenticated denial of service in phpMyFAQ API paginationPriority HIGH 77
    • TI-2026-76115 Authorization bypass in phpMyFAQ REST API edits restricted FAQsPriority HIGH 73
    • TI-2026-76092 phpMyFAQ e-mail change lacks password check, enabling takeoverPriority HIGH 73

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-111890
  2. 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-x3mg-fj9x-7cq2
  3. 2026-10-18 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  4. 2026-10-19 CISA SSVC decision points changed
  5. 2026-10-19 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM

References

  • 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
See all 224 →

Sources