CVE-2026-44642 Piwigo: SQL injection in upgrade authentication allows unauthenticated upgrade authorization bypass (PHP 8+)
Unauthenticated attackers can bypass upgrade authorization via SQL injection in Piwigo, leading to unauthorized database changes and service disruption.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-44642?
CVE-2026-44642 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in Piwigo, published on 25 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Piwigo is a full featured open source photo gallery application for the web. Prior to 16.4.0, check_upgrade_access_rights() in admin/include/functions_upgrade.php conditionally escapes the submitted username only when the removed get_magic_quotes_gpc function exists, so PHP 8 and later concatenate an unauthenticated username directly into the upgrade authentication SQL query. When database upgrades are pending, a crafted query result can satisfy the status and password checks, set PHPWG_IN_UPGRADE, and authorize upgrade execution without valid administrator credentials. This can cause unauthorized database integrity changes and service disruption. This vulnerability is fixed in 16.4.0.
Weakness: CWE-89
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44642?
How do I fix CVE-2026-44642?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-44642 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Use parameterised queries everywhere and never build SQL by joining strings. Upgrade affected software first; a web application firewall only buys time. More about SQL injection.
Is CVE-2026-44642 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44642 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6wj3-7fhw-gfpm.