CVE-2026-13239 in WissKI
Summary
by MITRE • 07/11/2026
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Drupal WissKI allows Forceful Browsing. This issue affects WissKI versions: from 0.0.0 to 4.2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/11/2026
The Missing Authorization vulnerability in Drupal WissKI represents a critical access control flaw that enables forceful browsing attacks, allowing unauthorized users to bypass intended security restrictions and gain access to protected resources. This vulnerability specifically impacts WissKI versions ranging from 0.0.0 through 4.2.0, indicating a widespread issue affecting the entire product lifecycle. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the application's access control mechanisms, creating pathways for attackers to navigate directly to restricted content without proper authentication or permission validation.
This technical flaw operates at the core of Drupal's permission system and WissKI's custom access controls, where the application fails to properly validate user privileges before granting access to specific resources or functionality. The vulnerability manifests when the system does not adequately verify whether a user possesses the necessary permissions to access particular content, forms, or administrative interfaces. Attackers can exploit this weakness by directly accessing URLs or endpoints that should normally be restricted, effectively bypassing the intended authorization workflow.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to perform actions ranging from viewing sensitive data and configuration information to potentially executing malicious operations within the application's administrative interfaces. This forceful browsing capability allows threat actors to systematically discover and access protected resources that should remain hidden or restricted to authorized personnel only. The implications are particularly severe in environments where WissKI serves as a repository for research data, cultural heritage information, or other sensitive academic content.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) and represents a classic example of insufficient access control validation that can be exploited through direct object reference manipulation. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as an access control bypass technique where adversaries leverage application logic flaws to gain unauthorized access to resources. Organizations using affected WissKI versions face significant risks including data exposure, potential system compromise, and violation of privacy regulations governing research and cultural heritage data management.
The recommended mitigation strategies include immediate upgrade to patched versions of WissKI, implementation of proper authorization checks throughout the application codebase, and deployment of additional security controls such as web application firewalls. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive access control reviews to identify and remediate similar authorization flaws that may exist in other parts of their Drupal-based systems. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to prevent recurrence of such issues in future deployments.