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DiscourseApplication

CVE-2026-30888

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.1.2 / 2026.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
61/100
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. Versions prior to 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 allow a moderator to edit site policy documents (ToS, guidelines, privacy policy) that they are explicitly prohibited from modifying. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch. No known workarounds are available.

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

Discourse versions prior to 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a broken access control vulnerability that allows moderators to bypass authorization checks and edit site policy documents (Terms of Service, guidelines, privacy policy) they are explicitly prohibited from modifying.

MitigationUpgrade Discourse to version 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, or 2026.1.2 to patch the authorization bypass; no workarounds are available.

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:>= 2026.1.0, < 2026.1.2>= 2026.2.0, < 2026.2.1= 2026.3.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/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. Determine installed Discourse version
    Access the Discourse admin panel and navigate to /about, or check the version file in the Discourse installation directory. Compare the version number against the affected ranges: >= 2026.1.0, < 2026.1.2; >= 2026.2.0, < 2026.2.1; = 2026.3.0
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges
  2. Verify moderator accounts exist
    In the Discourse admin panel, navigate to the Users section and confirm there are users with moderator privileges (trust level 2 or higher, or explicit moderator role)
    Affected if There are moderator accounts configured in the system
  3. Confirm policy editing module is accessible to moderators
    Check the Site Policy settings area in the admin panel. Verify if any moderators have been explicitly restricted from editing Terms of Service, guidelines, or privacy policy documents, yet retain general moderator privileges
    Affected if Moderators exist who have been granted moderator role but explicitly denied policy document editing permissions
  4. Test policy edit authorization bypass
    Log in as a restricted moderator (one prohibited from editing policies) and attempt to navigate to and edit the Terms of Service, privacy policy, or guidelines page. Observe if the edit operation succeeds despite the restriction
    Affected if A moderator who is explicitly prohibited from editing policy documents can successfully modify them

A user is affected if they run a Discourse version within the affected ranges AND have moderators with restricted policy editing permissions, as the authorization bypass allows those restricted moderators to edit policies they should not be able to modify.

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 2026.1.2 / 2026.2.1 or later
Fixed in 2026.1.22026.2.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Discourse to version 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, or 2026.1.2 to patch the authorization bypass; no workarounds are available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 2026.1.2 (for 2026.1.x branch), 2026.2.1 (for 2026.2.x branch), or 2026.3.0-latest.1 (for 2026.3.x branch)

  1. Identify your current Discourse version by checking the admin panel or running `git rev-parse HEAD` in the Discourse directory
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (2026.1.x, 2026.2.x, or 2026.3.x)
  3. For 2026.1.x users: Upgrade to version 2026.1.2 or later
  4. For 2026.2.x users: Upgrade to version 2026.2.1 or later
  5. For 2026.3.x users: Upgrade to version 2026.3.0-latest.1 or later
  6. Follow standard Discourse upgrade procedures: back up the database, stop the application, run `./launcher rebuild app`, then restart
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version in the admin panel

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

Fix this in Discourse Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-30888 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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