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Medium

phpMyFAQ: Attachment download allowed without dlattachment right (broken access control)

  • Disclosed: 23.01.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Summary

A logged‑in user without the dlattachment right can download FAQ attachments. This is due to a permissive permission check in attachment.php that treats the mere presence of a right key as authorization and a flawed group/user logic expression.

Details

In attachment.php, the access decision uses: ($groupPermission || ($groupPermission && $userPermission)) && isset($permission['dlattachment']) isset() returns true even when the right value is false, and the logic simplifies to $groupPermission for some permission modes. As a result, a user without dlattachment can still access the attachment.

PoC

Precondition: A non‑admin user exists; an attachment is associated to a FAQ record; records.allowDownloadsForGuests = false. Log in as a non‑admin user without dlattachment. Request the attachment download endpoint.

bash
curl -c /tmp/pmf_api_cookies.txt \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"username":"tester","password":"Test1234!"}' \
  http://192.168.40.16/phpmyfaq/api/v3.0/login

curl -i -b /tmp/pmf_api_cookies.txt \
  "http://192.168.40.16/phpmyfaq/index.php?action=attachment&id=1"

Impact

Unauthorized users can download attachments (confidentiality breach). Depending on content, this may expose sensitive documents.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Composer package phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq < 4.0.17 4.0.17
Composer package thorsten/phpmyfaq < 4.0.17 4.0.17

References

CVSS score 6.5/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-284
Platform
Composer
Package
phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq, thorsten/phpmyfaq
Disclosed
23.01.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-7p9h-m7m8-vhhv - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: thorsten/phpmyfaq

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (112) in the archive
Total entries
112
First → latest
05.2022 09.2026
Without a fix
2
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 8
  • High 36
  • Medium 67
  • Low 1

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. phpMyFAQ has SQL Injection in `StopWords::add()` — Unescaped Stop Word Insertion
    High CVE-2026-56738 < 4.1.6 4.1.6
  2. phpMyFAQ's two-factor authentication login bypasses the password factor
    High · 8.1 CVE-2026-56737 >= 3.2.0, < 4.1.6 4.1.6
  3. phpMyFAQ has Stored XSS in Admin FAQ Editor via HTML Entity Bypass in Frontend FAQ Submission
    High · 8.2 CVE-2026-56736 < 4.2.0-alpha 4.2.0-alpha
  4. phpMyFAQ privilege escalation: GroupController::updatePermissions lets a GROUP_EDIT admin grant rights they do not hold
    High · 8.8 CVE-2026-57995 < 4.1.5 4.1.5
  5. phpMyFAQ has an incomplete fix for GHSA-xvp4-phqj-cjr3 — editUser() and updateUserRights() lack authorization guards
    High · 8.1 CVE-2026-56396 < 4.1.4 4.1.4
  6. phpMyFAQ: Missing Password Reset Token Allows Account Takeover via Username/Email Enumeration
    High · 8.2 CVE-2026-35675 < 4.1.3 4.1.3
  7. phpMyFAQ: Default Empty API Token Authentication Bypass
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-35672 < 4.1.3 4.1.3
  8. phpMyFAQ: IDOR Account Takeover
    High · 8.8 CVE-2026-35671 < 4.1.3 4.1.3
  9. phpMyFAQ: Unauthenticated Password Reset Endpoint Allows User Enumeration and Forced Password Change Without Token Validation
    High · 8.2 CVE-2026-35676 < 4.1.3 4.1.3
  10. phpMyFAQ has unauthenticated SQL injection via User-Agent header in BuiltinCaptcha
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2026-46364 < 4.1.2 4.1.2
  11. phpMyFAQ has unauthenticated FAQ permission bypass via getFaqBySolutionId fallback query
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-46366 < 4.1.2 4.1.2
  12. phpMyFAQ has SQL Injection in CurrentUser::setTokenData through unescaped OAuth token fields
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-46359 < 4.1.2 4.1.2
  13. phpMyFAQ enables unauthenticated 2FA brute-force attack via /admin/check acceptance of arbitrary user-id
    Critical · 9.1 CVE-2026-45010 < 4.1.2 4.1.2
  14. phpMyFAQ has stored XSS via Utils::parseUrl() in comment rendering
    High · 7.6 CVE-2026-46367 >= 4.1.1, < 4.1.2 4.1.2
  15. phpMyFAQ Allows Unauthenticated Account Creation via WebAuthn Prepare Endpoint
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-27836 < 4.0.18 4.0.18
  16. phpMyFAQ: Attachment download allowed without dlattachment right (broken access control) this entry
    Medium · 6.5 CVE-2026-24420 < 4.0.17 4.0.17
  17. phpMyFAQ has unauthenticated config backup download via /api/setup/backup
    High · 7.5 CVE-2025-69200 < 4.0.16, >= 4.1.0-alpha, <= 4.1.0-beta.2 4.0.16
  18. phpMyFAQ has Authenticated SQL Injection in Configuration Update Functionality
    High · 7.2 CVE-2025-62519 < 4.0.14 4.0.14
  19. phpMyFAQ duplicate email registration allows multiple accounts with the same email
    High · 8.1 CVE-2025-59943 >= 4.0.7, < 4.0.13 4.0.13
  20. phpMyFAQ Generates an Error Message Containing Sensitive Information if database server is not available
    High · 8.6 CVE-2024-54141 < 4.0.0 4.0.0
  21. Insufficient Session Expiration in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    High · 7.6 CVE-2023-5865 < 3.2.2 3.2.2
  22. phpMyFAQ Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
    High · 7.4 CVE-2023-5864 < 3.2.1 3.2.1
  23. phpMyFAQ Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
    High · 8.3 CVE-2023-5319 < 3.1.18 3.1.18
  24. phpMyFAQ Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
    Critical · 9.0 CVE-2023-5320 < 3.1.18 3.1.18
  25. phpMyFAQ Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
    Critical · 9.1 CVE-2023-5316 < 3.1.18 3.1.18
  26. phpMyFAQ Stored Cross-site Scripting vulnerability
    High · 8.8 CVE-2023-4007 < 3.1.16 3.1.16
  27. phpMyFAQ Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File vulnerability
    High · 8.8 CVE-2023-4006 < 3.1.16 3.1.16
  28. Cross Site Scripting in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    High · 8.2 CVE-2023-2550 < 3.1.13 3.1.13
  29. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to business logic errors
    High · 8.3 CVE-2023-1887 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  30. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to authentication bypass
    High · 7.3 CVE-2023-1886 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  31. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to DOM cross-site scripting (XSS) via configuration privacy note URL parameter
    High · 8.1 CVE-2023-1882 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  32. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) via artlang parameter
    High · 8.3 CVE-2023-1880 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  33. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) via adminlog
    High · 8.3 CVE-2023-1878 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  34. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in FAQ comment username parameter
    High · 8.9 CVE-2023-1758 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  35. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) via FAQ News link parameter
    High · 8.1 CVE-2023-1757 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  36. thorsten/phpmyfaq vulnerable privilege escalation from improper privilege management
    High · 8.8 CVE-2023-1762 < 3.1.12 3.1.12
  37. Code Injection in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2023-0788 < 3.1.11 3.1.11
  38. Command Injection in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2023-0789 < 3.1.11 3.1.11
  39. Uncaught Exception in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    High · 8.8 CVE-2023-0790 < 3.1.11 3.1.11
  40. Weak Password Requirements in thorsten/phpmyfaq
    High · 8.8 CVE-2023-0793 < 3.1.11 3.1.11
  41. phpMyFAQ Improper Authentication vulnerability
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2023-0311 < 3.1.10 3.1.10
  42. phpMyFAQ has insecure HTTP cookies
    High · 7.5 CVE-2022-4409 < 3.1.9 3.1.9
  43. phpMyFAQ contains Weak Password Requirements
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2022-3754 < 3.1.8 3.1.8
  44. phpMyFAQ vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting
    High · 8.4 CVE-2022-3608 < 3.2.0-alpha 3.2.0-alpha
  45. phpMyFAQ CSRF
    High · 8.8 CVE-2018-16650 < 2.9.11 2.9.11

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