# CVE-2026-85592: phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 Authorization Bypass via question/create

> Unauthenticated attackers can bypass guest restrictions to inject spam into the admin queue when ask questions are enabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-447p-f6x5-rw98, GHSA-546h-9ghq-x49g

## What is CVE-2026-85592?

CVE-2026-85592 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 4 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in the question creation endpoint where the isAddingQuestionsAllowed() method grants access to all callers when main.enableAskQuestions is enabled, ignoring the records.allowQuestionsForGuests setting. Unauthenticated attackers can submit questions via the question/create API endpoint to bypass guest submission restrictions and inject spam into the admin moderation queue.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-85592?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-85592?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-85592 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-85592 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-85592 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-85592 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-85592 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in thorsten phpMyFAQ, published on 4 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-85592 exists.

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-2026-85592/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85592/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-85592
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-85592
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85592

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85592/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.