# CVE-2026-85513: StackStorm st2 NoOp RBAC backend actionexecutions.py privileges management

> Remote attackers can escalate privileges in StackStorm st2 via improper privilege management in the NoOp RBAC backend, affecting default installations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w6wr-mr8c-m255

## What is CVE-2026-85513?

CVE-2026-85513 is a medium-severity vulnerability in StackStorm st2, published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A weakness has been identified in StackStorm st2 up to 3.9.0. This issue affects the function assert_user_is_admin_if_user_query_param_is_provided of the file st2api/st2api/controllers/v1/actionexecutions.py of the component NoOp RBAC backend. This manipulation of the argument User causes improper privilege management. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. The exploit has been made available to the public and could be used for attacks. Prior advisory CVE-2022-44009 was reported as a follow-up on the same sink, but this issue is distinct: it needs no Jinja RBAC und affects default install with RBAC disabled. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-85513?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-85513?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-85513 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-85513 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-85513 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-85513 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-85513 is a medium-severity vulnerability in StackStorm st2, published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-85513 exists.

Affected product: StackStorm st2. 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-2026-85513/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85513/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-85513
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-85513
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85513

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85513/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.