# CVE-2026-85591: phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 Authentication Bypass via Unverified Password Change

> Authenticated attackers can bypass password verification to change any user's password, leading to account takeover and potential privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** 10 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6r2c-694w-24qv, GHSA-p8fc-6wpx-fw6r

## What is CVE-2026-85591?

CVE-2026-85591 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

phpMyFAQ versions before 4.1.8 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the user control panel API endpoint that allows authenticated attackers to change account passwords without verifying the current password. Attackers with session access can submit a PUT request to the user data update endpoint with only a CSRF token to silently change any user's password, including administrators, causing irreversible account takeover and victim lockout.

Weakness: CWE-620 (Unverified Password Change)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-85591?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-85591?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-85591 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-85591 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-85591 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-85591 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-85591 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-85591 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2026-85591/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85591/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-85591
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-85591
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85591

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85591/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.