CVE-2024-52589 in Discourse
Summary
by MITRE • 12/19/2024
Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Moderators can see the Screened emails list in the admin dashboard, and through that can learn the email of a user. This problem is patched in the latest version of Discourse. Users unable to upgrade should remove moderator role from untrusted users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2025
CVE-2024-52589 represents a privilege escalation vulnerability within the Discourse open source community discussion platform that exposes sensitive user information through improper access controls. This vulnerability specifically affects the administrative dashboard functionality where moderators possess elevated permissions that inadvertently grant access to screened email addresses of users within the system. The issue stems from a lack of proper authorization checks that allow users with moderator roles to view email addresses that should remain protected from unauthorized access. This weakness creates a significant information disclosure risk as it enables malicious actors with moderator privileges to identify and potentially target specific users based on their email addresses.
The technical flaw manifests in the administrative interface design where the screened email list functionality does not properly validate user permissions before displaying sensitive information. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization within software systems and represents a classic case of insufficient access control mechanisms. The flaw operates at the application layer where user roles and permissions are not adequately enforced when accessing administrative features that contain sensitive user data. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability through the existing moderator role to extract email addresses of users who have been screened or flagged within the platform's moderation system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure as it creates potential pathways for social engineering attacks, targeted phishing campaigns, and user enumeration attacks. When moderators can access email addresses of users, they inadvertently provide attackers with valuable intelligence for crafting personalized attacks against specific community members. This vulnerability particularly affects platforms where Discourse is used for sensitive discussions, professional networking, or communities where user privacy is paramount. The exposure of email addresses through the moderation interface creates a significant risk for users who may not have intended to make their contact information publicly accessible through administrative functions.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations by removing moderator privileges from untrusted users until a full upgrade to the patched version is completed. This remediation strategy aligns with the principle of least privilege and helps contain the vulnerability while maintaining platform functionality. The patched version addresses the core authorization issue by implementing proper access controls that ensure only authorized administrators can view sensitive user information. Security teams should also consider implementing additional monitoring for administrative access patterns and email address queries to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper role-based access control implementation and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of administrative interfaces to prevent unintended information disclosure through elevated user permissions.