CVE-2026-57995 in phpMyFAQ
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2026
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in GroupController::updatePermissions that allows GROUP_EDIT administrators to grant arbitrary rights to groups without verifying they hold those rights themselves. A delegated administrator can exploit this by assigning high-value permissions to a group they belong to, inheriting those rights and escalating privileges up to full administrative control.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2026
The vulnerability exists within phpMyFAQ version 4.1.4 and earlier, specifically in the GroupController::updatePermissions method which governs permission management for user groups. This privilege escalation flaw stems from insufficient access control validation mechanisms that fail to verify whether the requesting administrator possesses the necessary permissions to grant the requested rights to other groups. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-284 Access Control Bypass, where the system fails to properly enforce authorization checks during privilege assignment operations.
Security researchers have identified that group administrators with the GROUP_EDIT permission can manipulate the system to assign elevated privileges to groups they belong to without proper verification of their own authority levels. This represents a critical flaw in the application's security model where delegated administrative responsibilities are not properly constrained by the principle of least privilege. The vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the lack of proper permission validation by directly calling the updatePermissions method with malicious parameters that grant themselves full administrative rights.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to escalate privileges from a limited group administrator role to full system administration capabilities. Once exploited, an attacker can gain complete control over the phpMyFAQ instance including access to all database content, user management functions, and system configuration settings. This privilege escalation chain operates through the inheritance mechanism where permissions assigned to groups are automatically inherited by all members of that group, creating a direct path for unauthorized elevation of privileges.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive access control validation within the GroupController::updatePermissions method, ensuring that all permission assignments are validated against the requesting administrator's current authorization levels. Organizations should immediately upgrade to phpMyFAQ version 4.1.5 or later where this vulnerability has been patched. Additionally, security administrators should review and restrict group administrator privileges to prevent unnecessary delegation of high-value permissions, implementing the principle of least privilege and regular audit of permission assignments to detect anomalous activity patterns.
The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts where attackers leverage legitimate administrative accounts to escalate privileges within the system. The affected application requires immediate patching and configuration review to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation attacks that could lead to complete system compromise. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions to detect suspicious permission assignment activities and maintain regular security assessments of their phpMyFAQ installations to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities.