CVE-2026-92800 in Docs
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2026
Docs before 5.4.1 fails to properly revoke websocket collaboration connections when access is revoked at parent documents. Attackers with revoked access can retain real-time read and write access to sub-documents through open websocket sessions that are never disconnected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2026
The vulnerability described involves a critical flaw in the session management logic of Docs software prior to version 5.4.1, specifically concerning the handling of WebSocket connections during collaborative editing scenarios. In modern web-based document collaboration platforms, real-time synchronization between clients and servers is typically maintained through persistent WebSocket connections rather than traditional HTTP request-response cycles. When an administrator or owner revokes access permissions for a parent document, the system is expected to propagate this change down to all associated sub-documents and immediately terminate any active sessions that rely on those revoked privileges. However, in versions before 5.4.1, the mechanism responsible for detecting permission changes fails to properly invalidate existing WebSocket connections linked to subordinate documents. This architectural oversight means that while new connection attempts may be correctly denied based on updated access control lists, previously established sockets remain open and functional despite the user no longer holding valid credentials or permissions for the resource hierarchy.
From a technical perspective, this issue represents an Insecure Direct Object Reference combined with improper session termination logic. The server fails to enforce state consistency between its internal permission model and the active network connections it maintains. When access is revoked at the parent level, the backend service does not iterate through or signal all child document sessions to close them. Consequently, any client that had an open WebSocket connection prior to the revocation event continues to receive real-time updates from sub-documents and can continue pushing changes back to the server without triggering a re-authentication check for each individual operation within that specific socket lifecycle. This behavior persists until the existing TCP connection is naturally closed by timeout or network interruption, which could take an indeterminate amount of time depending on client-side keep-alive settings and server idle timeouts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant in environments where sensitive information is stored across multiple nested documents with varying access levels. An attacker who has had their access revoked can retain real-time read and write capabilities to sub-documents that should be inaccessible. This leads directly to unauthorized data exfiltration, as the attacker can continue to view confidential content being edited by other users in real time. Furthermore, because write access is also retained, an adversary could inject malicious code, alter critical records, or cause denial of service through disruptive edits within those sub-documents. The persistence of these connections undermines the principle of least privilege and creates a window of opportunity for data breaches that persists until manual intervention or system restart occurs to clear stale sessions.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-613, which describes insufficient session expiration, as well as CWE-284, indicating improper access control where authorization checks are not consistently enforced across all code paths involved in resource access. In the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this flaw facilitates lateral movement and data exfiltration techniques by allowing an actor to maintain persistent access to resources after their primary authentication or permission set has been invalidated. It effectively bypasses standard revocation procedures that are designed to immediately cut off unauthorized users from collaborative environments.
To mitigate this risk, organizations running Docs versions prior to 5.4.1 should upgrade to the latest patched release as soon as possible. The vendor has addressed this issue by implementing a robust event listener or callback mechanism that triggers on permission changes at any level of the document hierarchy. This updated logic ensures that when access is revoked for a parent document, all associated WebSocket connections for sub-documents are immediately terminated from the server side. Until an upgrade can be performed, administrators should consider enforcing shorter idle timeouts for WebSocket sessions to reduce the window of exposure and manually monitor active session logs for anomalies indicating persistent unauthorized access after permission changes have been applied.