# CVE-2026-86544: knowns before 0.30.0 Authorization Bypass via Misclassified Code Actions

> Attackers with read access can modify permissions via misclassified code actions, leading to privilege escalation in the knowns library.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/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:** 7 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q52j-357p-5pv8, GHSA-w323-3wpx-f7g5

## What is CVE-2026-86544?

CVE-2026-86544 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in knowns-dev knowns, published on 7 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

knowns versions before 0.30.0 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability where mutating code actions are incorrectly classified as read-only operations. Attackers with read-restricted sessions can exploit code.replace to modify permission configurations and escalate privileges on subsequent calls.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-86544?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-86544?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-86544 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-86544 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-86544 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-86544 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-86544 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in knowns-dev knowns, published on 7 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-2026-86544 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: knowns-dev knowns. 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-2026-86544/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86544/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-86544
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86544
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-86544

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86544/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.