CVE-2026-76207 in phpMyFAQ
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2026
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.7 contains a two-factor authentication bypass vulnerability where remember-me tokens are issued before 2FA verification completes. Attackers with valid credentials can obtain a remember-me cookie, skip the 2FA challenge, and replay the cookie to gain full authenticated access without second-factor verification.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2026
The vulnerability identified in phpMyFAQ versions prior to 4.1.7 represents a critical failure in session management logic specifically related to two-factor authentication enforcement. The core technical flaw lies in the sequence of operations during the user login process, where the system issues persistent remember-me tokens before verifying that the second factor has been successfully authenticated. This architectural oversight allows an attacker who possesses valid primary credentials, such as a username and password, to bypass the mandatory secondary verification step entirely. By exploiting this race condition or logical error in the authentication state machine, the application grants long-lived access privileges without ensuring that the user has completed the full multi-factor authentication workflow.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability significantly undermines the security posture provided by two-factor authentication. The primary purpose of 2FA is to add a layer of defense against credential theft, but this flaw renders that protection ineffective for any session utilizing remember-me functionality. An attacker can obtain a valid remember-me cookie after logging in with just the first factor and subsequently replay this token to maintain authenticated access indefinitely without ever providing the second factor. This capability facilitates persistent unauthorized access, allowing adversaries to exfiltrate sensitive data, modify content, or escalate privileges within the application environment while evading detection mechanisms that rely on 2FA logs for anomaly identification.
This issue aligns with CWE-384, Session Fixation, and more specifically CWE-613, Insufficient Session Expiration, as it involves improper handling of session tokens in relation to authentication states. In the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability supports techniques under Tactic TA0001 Initial Access, particularly those involving credential-based attacks where multi-factor authentication is bypassed through logical flaws rather than cryptographic breaks. The ability to replay cookies also touches upon aspects of session hijacking and persistence mechanisms that allow attackers to maintain footholds in compromised systems over extended periods without re-authenticating.
To mitigate this vulnerability, developers must enforce strict ordering in the authentication pipeline where no persistent tokens or long-lived sessions are issued until all required factors have been verified as complete. The application should validate the 2FA status before generating any remember-me cookies and ensure that session identifiers are rotated upon successful completion of multi-factor checks. Additionally implementing short expiration times for temporary session states during the login process can reduce the window of opportunity for exploitation. Organizations running affected versions must upgrade to phpMyFAQ version 4.1.7 or later immediately, as this release addresses the logical flaw in token issuance timing and restores the intended security guarantees of two-factor authentication.