CVE-2026-56396 phpMyFAQ - Privilege Escalation via Missing Authorization in editUser() and updateUserRights()
Authenticated administrators can escalate privileges to SuperAdmin by exploiting missing authorization checks in user management endpoints.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-56396?
CVE-2026-56396 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in phpMyFAQ, published on 21 Jun 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.4 contains missing authorization vulnerabilities in editUser() and updateUserRights() endpoints that allow authenticated administrators to escalate privileges. Non-SuperAdmin users with edit_user permission can set is_superadmin flag or grant arbitrary rights to escalate to SuperAdmin access.
Weakness: CWE-862
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-56396?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq and thorsten/phpmyfaq.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq Packagist | All versions | 4.1.4 |
phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq Packagist | All versions | 4.1.4 |
thorsten/phpmyfaq Packagist | All versions | 4.1.4 |
thorsten/phpmyfaq Packagist | All versions | 4.1.4 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-56396?
Upgrade phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq to 4.1.4 or later.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-56396 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-56396 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-985r-q3qp-299h, GHSA-q82q-6rfm-h9vp.