CVE-2026-25517 in Wagtail
Summary
by MITRE • 02/04/2026
Wagtail is an open source content management system built on Django. Prior to versions 6.3.6, 7.0.4, 7.1.3, 7.2.2, and 7.3, due to a missing permission check on the preview endpoints, a user with access to the Wagtail admin and knowledge of a model's fields can craft a form submission to obtain a preview rendering of any page, snippet or site setting object for which previews are enabled, consisting of any data of the user's choosing. The existing data of the object itself is not exposed, but depending on the nature of the template being rendered, this may expose other database contents that would otherwise only be accessible to users with edit access over the model. The vulnerability is not exploitable by an ordinary site visitor without access to the Wagtail admin. This issue has been patched in versions 6.3.6, 7.0.4, 7.1.3, 7.2.2, and 7.3.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-25517 represents a critical authorization flaw within the Wagtail content management system that affects multiple versions prior to 6.3.6, 7.0.4, 7.1.3, 7.2.2, and 7.3. This issue stems from a missing permission check in the preview endpoints, which creates a significant security gap in the system's access control mechanisms. The flaw specifically targets users who possess administrative access to the Wagtail interface and have knowledge of specific model fields, enabling them to craft malicious form submissions that can trigger preview renderings of various system objects. The vulnerability operates under the principle of insufficient authorization checking, which is classified as CWE-285 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566.001 for valid accounts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the preview functionality that is designed to provide administrators with a way to see how content will appear before publishing. However, the absence of proper permission validation means that authenticated users can bypass normal access controls to obtain preview renderings of pages, snippets, and site settings objects that have preview capabilities enabled. While the existing data within these objects remains protected, the preview rendering process can expose additional database contents through template processing that would normally require edit permissions to access directly. This occurs because the preview templates may reference related database fields or content that is not part of the primary object being previewed, creating an information disclosure channel that extends beyond the immediate object's data. The vulnerability demonstrates how preview systems can inadvertently create attack vectors when proper authorization boundaries are not maintained.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Wagtail for content management, as it allows authenticated users to potentially access sensitive information that should be restricted to authorized personnel. The flaw particularly affects scenarios where preview templates include references to related database objects or content that is not directly part of the previewed item but is rendered through template processing. This could expose internal data structures, user information, or content that would normally be protected by standard access controls. The vulnerability requires a user to already possess administrative access to the Wagtail system, which means it cannot be exploited by external attackers without first compromising administrative credentials. However, once exploited, the vulnerability could enable privilege escalation or information disclosure that could be leveraged in subsequent attacks. This aligns with ATT&CK tactic TA0001 for initial access and TA0007 for credential access, as it could be used to gather intelligence about system structure and access patterns.
Organizations using affected versions of Wagtail should immediately implement the available patches to address this vulnerability, as the fix involves adding proper permission checks to the preview endpoints that were previously missing. The recommended mitigation strategy includes upgrading to versions 6.3.6, 7.0.4, 7.1.3, 7.2.2, or 7.3, which contain the necessary authorization controls. Additionally, system administrators should conduct thorough audits of preview configurations to ensure that no custom preview endpoints exist that might be vulnerable to similar issues. Security teams should also review access control policies to verify that administrative privileges are properly restricted and that users have the minimum necessary permissions. The fix addresses the root cause by implementing proper authorization checks before allowing preview rendering, ensuring that users cannot access preview functionality for objects they do not have appropriate permissions to view. This remediation approach aligns with security best practices for access control and follows the principle of least privilege as defined in cybersecurity frameworks and standards such as NIST SP 800-53.