Sign in
Deutsch English Español Polski
Medium

MantisBT Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation from Manager to Administrator

  • Disclosed: 11.05.2026
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Insufficient access control checks in ProjectUsersAddCommand (used in manage_proj_user_add.php and REST API endpoint PUT /project/{id}/users) allows users having manage_project_threshold access level (manager by default) to grant project-level administrator access to any user (including themselves) in any Project they have manager rights in.

The normal project-user add form does restrict the selectable access levels to the actor's own project role or below. However, the backend handler still accepts a forged higher access_level value and writes it.

Impact

Privilege escalation.

The consequences of the privilege escalation are not as bad as it may sound, because having administrator access at Project level is effectively not very different from being manager, it does not actually give administrator privileges on the whole MantisBT instance. In particular, it does not let the upgraded user delete the Project or grant them any access to global administrative functions such as managing Users, Projects, Plugins, Custom Fields, etc.

Patches

  • 69e0180f180ed5acf48a8d281a73683a7bf32461

Workarounds

None

Credits

Thanks to the following security researchers for independently discovering and responsibly reporting the issue:

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Composer package mantisbt/mantisbt < 2.28.2 2.28.2

References

CVSS score -
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-284
Platform
Composer
Package
mantisbt/mantisbt
Disclosed
11.05.2026
Updated
11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-frf7-jhp9-jxm6 - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: mantisbt/mantisbt

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 (74) in the archive
Total entries
74
First → latest
04.2022 07.2026
Without a fix
2
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 4
  • High 20
  • Medium 49
  • Low 1

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. MantisBT: Stored XSS in print_all_bug_page_word.php
    High CVE-2026-62944 < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  2. MantisBT: Reflected XSS in admin/install.php via unescaped printf
    Critical CVE-2026-52881 < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  3. MantisBT: Reflected XSS in admin/install.php
    Critical CVE-2026-52847 < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  4. MantisBT: Remote Code Execution via eval() Class Hoisting in adm_config_set.php
    High CVE-2026-49273 >= 1.3.0, < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  5. MantisBT: SOAP API Authentication Bypass with Privilege Escalation to Administrator
    Critical CVE-2026-47156 < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  6. MantisBT: SQL Injection via history_order Configuration Value
    High CVE-2026-47142 < 2.28.4 2.28.4
  7. MantisBT Vulnerable to Stored XSS in File Download
    High CVE-2026-44657 < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  8. MantisBT has Stored XSS on Move Attachments Admin Page
    High CVE-2026-44655 >= 1.3.0, < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  9. MantisBT has a Private Bugnote Attachment Content Leak via REST API
    High CVE-2026-42071 >= 2.23.0, < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  10. MantisBT is Vulnerable to Stored XSS in Saved-Filter Owner Column
    High CVE-2026-40607 >= 2.1.0, < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  11. MantisBT has a Content Security Policy bypass via attachments
    High CVE-2026-40597 < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  12. MantisBT is Vulnerable to XSS leading to account takeover via updating a user's font family preference
    High CVE-2026-40596 >= 2.11.0, < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  13. MantisBT is Vulnerable to Stored HTML Injection/XSS in Clone Issue Form
    High CVE-2026-34463 < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  14. MantisBT Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation from Manager to Administrator this entry
    Medium CVE-2026-34390 < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  15. MantisBT has Stored HTML Injection/XSS when displaying Tags in Timeline
    High · 6.1 CVE-2026-33548 >= 2.28.0, < 2.28.2 2.28.2
  16. MantisBT Vulnerable to Stored HTML Injection in Tag Delete Confirmation
    High CVE-2026-33517 >= 2.28.0, < 2.28.1 2.28.1
  17. MantisBT is vulnerable to authentication bypass through the SOAP API on MySQL
    Critical CVE-2026-30849 < 2.28.1 2.28.1
  18. MantisBT vulnerable to authentication bypass for some passwords due to PHP type juggling
    High · 9.1 CVE-2025-47776 < 2.27.2 2.27.2
  19. Mantis Bug Tracker (MantisBT) allows user account takeover in the signup/reset password process
    High · 7.3 CVE-2024-34077 < 2.26.2 2.26.2
  20. MantisBT Host Header Injection vulnerability
    High · 8.3 CVE-2024-23830 < 2.26.1 2.26.1
Show more (5) Showing 20 of 25

Know which vulnerabilities affect your application

With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.

Connect your application
DockRay newsletter

Application security in your inbox

Important vulnerabilities, actionable guidance and practical advice for your applications. Choose your technologies and follow what matters to your project.

  • A daily digest of new vulnerabilities, critical ones included.
  • Notifications about important updates.
  • Practical advice on application security and monitoring.

Leave empty to receive updates for every technology.

Privacy policy

Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.