CVE-2026-67207 in Wolf CMS
Summary
by MITRE • 07/30/2026
Wolf CMS through 0.8.3.1 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in BackupRestoreController that allows authenticated non-administrative users to access restricted backup functionality due to a PHP operator precedence flaw in the permission check expression. Attackers can exploit the incorrect evaluation of the access control expression to create, download, and restore backups without administrative privileges.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2026
The vulnerability in Wolf CMS 0.8.3.1 represents a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the application's core security controls. This issue resides within the BackupRestoreController component where improper permission validation allows authenticated users to escalate their privileges and access restricted backup functionality. The flaw stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of PHP operator precedence rules that directly impacts how access control decisions are evaluated within the application's security framework.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits a specific PHP operator precedence issue where the logical operators in the permission check expression are not properly grouped, leading to incorrect evaluation outcomes. When authenticated users attempt to access backup functionality, the flawed conditional logic fails to properly validate administrative privileges before granting access. This misinterpretation of boolean expressions creates a pathway for non-administrative users to bypass intended security controls and execute backup operations that should only be available to administrators.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on Wolf CMS for content management services. Attackers who can authenticate to the system gain the ability to create malicious backups containing sensitive data or system configurations, download existing backup files that may contain confidential information, and restore compromised backup files to overwrite legitimate system state. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it enables potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and disruption of normal operations through unauthorized modifications to the content management environment.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues in software applications. This specific implementation flaw demonstrates how seemingly minor coding errors in permission validation can create substantial security weaknesses that directly violate the principle of least privilege. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique where attackers leverage application-level flaws to gain elevated permissions without requiring additional authentication credentials or system-level exploitation methods.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patch for Wolf CMS 0.8.3.1, which resolves the operator precedence issue in the permission validation logic. System administrators should also review and audit existing backup files for potential compromise, while implementing additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized access attempts to backup functionality. Network segmentation and principle of least privilege enforcement can further reduce the impact of such vulnerabilities by limiting the scope of potential exploitation and reducing the attack surface available to authenticated users.
The root cause analysis reveals that this vulnerability was introduced during code development when developers incorrectly assumed PHP operator precedence rules without proper validation of expression evaluation. This highlights the importance of code reviews focusing on security-critical logic, particularly around access control implementations where incorrect boolean evaluations can have severe consequences for system integrity and data protection. Security testing should include comprehensive verification of conditional logic in permission-checking functions to prevent similar operator precedence issues from being introduced into production code.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of understanding language-specific behaviors in security-sensitive contexts, as PHP's operator precedence rules can significantly impact how boolean expressions are evaluated in access control scenarios. The flaw serves as a reminder that even minor coding oversights in permission validation can create substantial security risks that may not be immediately apparent during routine code reviews or functional testing phases. Organizations should establish more rigorous security review processes that specifically examine conditional logic and access control implementations to prevent similar issues from affecting their applications.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires only basic authentication credentials within the Wolf CMS application, making it particularly concerning as it can be leveraged by attackers who have gained initial access through other means such as credential theft or weak authentication mechanisms. This characteristic transforms what might otherwise be a limited access control issue into a potential vector for broader system compromise and data loss scenarios that could significantly impact organizational security posture and compliance requirements.