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DiscourseApplication

CVE-2025-68933

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.4 / 2025.11.2 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In versions prior to 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0, non-admin moderators with the `moderators_change_post_ownership` setting enabled can change ownership of posts in private messages and restricted categories they cannot access, then export their data to view the content. This is a broken access control vulnerability affecting sites that grant moderators post ownership transfer permissions. This issue is patched in versions 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0. The patch adds visibility checks for both the topic and posts before allowing ownership transfer. As a workaround, disable the `moderators_change_post_ownership` site setting to prevent non-admin moderators from using the post ownership transfer feature.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a broken access control vulnerability in Discourse where non-admin moderators with the `moderators_change_post_ownership` permission can transfer ownership of posts in private messages and restricted categories they cannot access, then export that data to view the content. The root cause is missing visibility checks for both the topic and posts before allowing ownership transfer.

MitigationUpgrade to Discourse versions 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, or 2026.1.0 which add visibility checks, or temporarily disable the `moderators_change_post_ownership` site setting as a workaround.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DiscourseApplication
Affected:< 3.5.4>= 2025.11.0, < 2025.11.2= 2025.12.0= 2026.1.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Discourse version
    Locate the version number in your Discourse installation (typically in the admin dashboard under /about or in the version file)
    Affected if The installed version is less than 3.5.4, OR between 2025.11.0 and 2025.11.1 inclusive, OR equal to 2025.12.0, OR equal to 2026.1.0
  2. Verify moderators_change_post_ownership setting
    Check if the site setting 'moderators_change_post_ownership' is enabled in Discourse admin panel under /admin/site_settings or query the site_settings table in the database
    Affected if The setting is currently enabled (set to true)

You are affected if your Discourse version is in the vulnerable range AND the moderators_change_post_ownership setting is enabled, allowing any non-admin moderator to access restricted content through ownership transfer.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.5.4 / 2025.11.2 or later
Fixed in 3.5.42025.11.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Discourse versions 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, or 2026.1.0 which add visibility checks, or temporarily disable the `moderators_change_post_ownership` site setting as a workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, or 2026.1.0 (depending on your release track)

  1. 1. Identify current Discourse version by checking the /admin dashboard or running `git log -1 --format='%H %s'` in the Discourse repository
  2. 2. If version is < 3.5.4, or between 2025.11.0-2025.11.1, or exactly 2025.12.0, or exactly 2026.1.0, the installation is vulnerable
  3. 3. Upgrade to one of the patched versions: 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, or 2026.1.0 (choose the appropriate release track for your installation)
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify the version change in /admin dashboard
  5. 5. Alternatively (as workaround), navigate to Admin > Settings > Site Settings and disable the `moderators_change_post_ownership` setting

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Discourse Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation5.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,460
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-68933 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data