CVE-2026-114546 in Media Alias Display Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 10/30/2026
Use of Web Browser Cache Containing Sensitive Information vulnerability in Drupal Media Alias Display allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels. This issue affects Media Alias Display versions: from 0.0.0 to 2.1.2, from 3.0.0 to 3.0.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2026
The vulnerability identified in the Drupal Media Alias Display module represents a critical intersection of web caching mechanisms and access control enforcement failures. This issue specifically affects versions ranging from 0.0.0 through 2.1.2, as well as version 3.0.0 up to 3.0.2. The core technical flaw lies in the improper handling of HTTP cache headers by the module when serving media content via alias paths. When a user with appropriate permissions requests a protected media file, the server correctly restricts access and serves the content or an error based on authentication status. However, web browsers aggressively cache responses to improve performance. In this scenario, if a privileged user accesses a restricted resource, the browser stores that response in its local cache without sufficient directives to prevent future retrieval by unauthorized parties. Subsequently, when an unauthenticated or less-privileged user requests the same media alias URL, the browser may serve the previously cached content directly from disk rather than sending a new request to the server for validation. This bypasses the backend access control checks entirely because the application logic is never invoked during the cache retrieval process.
This behavior constitutes a classic case of improper neutralization of input data with respect to web caching, which aligns closely with CWE-524: Use of Cache Containing Sensitive Information. The vulnerability allows an attacker to exploit incorrectly configured security levels by leveraging the client-side state rather than attacking server-side logic directly. From an offensive security perspective, this technique is categorized under ATT&CK T1078.3: Valid Accounts - Local Account, or more broadly within the context of data exfiltration via browser artifacts. The attacker does not need to compromise credentials or exploit a remote code execution flaw; instead, they rely on social engineering or physical access to an unattended device where a privileged user has previously viewed sensitive media files. Once the cached content is retrieved, it can be downloaded and analyzed outside of any audit trails that would normally accompany server-side requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Drupal for managing confidential documents, images, or proprietary media assets. Sensitive information such as internal communications, financial records, personal identifiable information contained within files, or intellectual property can be exposed to unauthorized individuals. The severity is compounded by the fact that standard web application firewalls and server-side logging mechanisms may not detect this exfiltration since no malicious request reaches the backend during the cache retrieval phase. This makes detection through traditional intrusion detection systems difficult without specific monitoring of client-side browser behavior or strict enforcement of caching policies at the infrastructure level.
Mitigation strategies must address both the immediate software defect and broader architectural practices regarding sensitive data handling. The primary remediation is to upgrade the Media Alias Display module to a version that resolves this cache control issue, ensuring that responses for protected resources include appropriate HTTP headers such as Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, or max-age=0 to instruct browsers not to store these responses in persistent storage. Additionally, administrators should implement server-side configurations using web servers like Nginx or Apache to enforce strict caching policies on paths associated with sensitive media aliases. This includes setting response headers that explicitly disable caching for authenticated endpoints serving private content. Furthermore, organizations should conduct a thorough review of their access control lists and ensure that the principle of least privilege is strictly enforced across all user roles within Drupal. Regular security audits focusing on data leakage vectors through client-side storage mechanisms are also recommended to identify similar vulnerabilities in other modules or custom code implementations.