CVE-2026-114541 in Frontend Editing Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/30/2026
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Drupal Frontend Editing allows Cross Site Request Forgery. This issue affects Frontend Editing versions: from 0.0.0 to 1.9.3.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the Drupal Frontend Editing module, specifically impacting version ranges from 0.0.0 through 1.9.3. This vulnerability is classified as a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) issue, which represents a significant risk to web application integrity by allowing an attacker to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions on behalf of the site without their knowledge or consent. The Frontend Editing module enhances user experience by enabling content modification directly within the page layout rather than requiring navigation to separate administrative forms. However, this convenience introduces complexity in request validation mechanisms that were not adequately secured in the affected versions, creating an opening for malicious exploitation.
From a technical perspective, CSRF attacks exploit the trust that a web application has in the user's browser and session cookies. When a legitimate user is authenticated with their Drupal site, they possess valid session tokens or cookies that authorize requests to modify content. The vulnerability arises because the Frontend Editing module failed to implement robust anti-CSRF protections for specific endpoints used during frontend editing operations. An attacker can craft a malicious webpage containing hidden forms or automated scripts designed to send HTTP POST or GET requests to these vulnerable Drupal endpoints. Because the browser automatically includes session cookies with every request made by an authenticated user, the server interprets these forged requests as legitimate actions initiated by that user. This bypasses standard authentication checks since the attacker does not need credentials; they merely leverage the victim's active session state.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for any Drupal site utilizing Frontend Editing with unpatched versions. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to perform a wide range of unauthorized actions, including but not limited to creating new content nodes, modifying existing page structures, changing user roles or permissions, and potentially deleting critical data. In the context of CMS platforms like Drupal, where users often have varying levels of administrative privileges depending on their role, this can lead to complete site compromise if an administrator is tricked into executing a malicious request. The attacker could deface the website, inject malware links, steal sensitive information stored in content fields, or escalate privileges by modifying user account settings. This undermines the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the web application, eroding trust among users and potentially causing significant reputational damage to the organization hosting the site.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) ID 352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a weakness where an attacker causes a user agent to perform unwanted actions on a trusted web application for a benefit to the attacker. Furthermore, in terms of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this activity corresponds to techniques involving social engineering and browser-based attacks, specifically leveraging valid credentials obtained through other means or simply exploiting session persistence to execute unauthorized commands. The lack of proper request validation mechanisms such as synchronizer tokens or custom header checks is a classic deviation from secure coding practices recommended by OWASP for preventing CSRF attacks.
To mitigate this vulnerability, site administrators must immediately upgrade the Frontend Editing module to version 1.9.4 or later, where these security controls have been properly implemented and tested. It is critical to verify that all dependencies within the Drupal ecosystem are also up to date to ensure comprehensive protection against related attack vectors. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the sources from which scripts can be loaded, thereby reducing the effectiveness of malicious pages attempting to execute automated requests. Implementing SameSite cookie attributes for session cookies further mitigates CSRF risks by instructing browsers not to send cookies in cross-site request contexts. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar gaps in other modules that handle state-changing operations via HTTP requests, ensuring a robust defense-in-depth strategy against web-based attacks.