CVE-2026-57996 phpMyFAQ - Privilege Escalation via Missing SuperAdmin Guard in user/add Endpoint
Delegated administrators can create SuperAdmin accounts via the user/add endpoint, leading to full instance takeover.
- 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-2026-57996?
CVE-2026-57996 is a high-severity vulnerability in phpMyFAQ, published on 15 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover.
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-57996?
How do I fix CVE-2026-57996?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-57996 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-57996 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-57996 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-26xw-7hf2-f34q, GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9.