# CVE-2026-111890: phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha.2 before 4.2.0-beta Privilege Escalation via updateUserRights

> Administrators with USER_EDIT rights can escalate privileges to gain unrestricted FAQ access across all languages via the update-rights API.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3666-fmjj-qm5h, GHSA-x3mg-fj9x-7cq2

## What is CVE-2026-111890?

CVE-2026-111890 is a high-severity vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 17 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

phpMyFAQ from 4.2.0-alpha.2 before 4.2.0-beta contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in UserController::updateUserRights that drops per-right language restrictions when rights are re-granted. Administrators holding USER_EDIT can submit language-scoped rights to the update-rights API, including for themselves, to gain unrestricted FAQ create, edit, and publish access across all languages.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-111890?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-111890?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-111890 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-111890 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-111890 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-111890 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-111890 is a high-severity vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 17 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-111890 exists.

Affected product: thorsten phpMyFAQ. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2026-111890/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-111890/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-111890
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-111890
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-111890

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-111890/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.