# CVE-2022-39385: Users erroneously and transparently added to private messages in Discourse

> Attackers redeeming invitations can transparently access private messages they should not see, exposing sensitive data in Discourse forums.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** BIT-discourse-2022-39385, GHSA-gh5r-j595-qx48

## What is CVE-2022-39385?

CVE-2022-39385 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Discourse Discourse, published on 14 Nov 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Discourse is the an open source discussion platform. In some rare cases users redeeming an invitation can be added as a participant to several private message topics that they should not be added to. They are not notified of this, it happens transparently in the background. This issue has been resolved in commit `a414520742` and will be included in future releases. Users are advised to upgrade. Users are also advised to set `SiteSetting.max_invites_per_day` to 0 until the patch is installed.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-39385?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including discourse. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `discourse` | Bitnami | All versions | 2.8.10 |

Products: Discourse Discourse.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-39385?

Upgrade discourse to 2.8.10 or later.

## Is CVE-2022-39385 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-39385 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Discourse Discourse

- [CVE-2021-41163](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-41163/): RCE via malicious SNS subscription payload (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-36066](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36066/): Discourse vulnerable to RCE via admins uploading maliciously zipped file (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-39356](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39356/): Discourse user account takeover via email and invite link (high 8.9)
- [CVE-2023-22468](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-22468/): Discourse vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting in local oneboxes (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-27934](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27934/): Discourse leaks private topic title and post excerpt via user action API endpoint (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-39385 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-39385 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Discourse Discourse, published on 14 Nov 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-39385 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- discourse (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 2.8.10

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39385/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39385/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-39385
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39385
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-39385

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39385/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.