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DiscourseApplication

CVE-2026-33251

MEDIUM · 5.4 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 →
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. Prior to versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2, an authorization bypass vulnerability in hidden Solved topics may allow unauthorized users to accept or unaccept solutions. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch. As a workaround, ensure only trusted users are part of the Site Setting for accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups.

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

An authorization bypass vulnerability in Discourse's 'Solved' topics feature allows unauthorized users to accept or unaccept solutions on hidden topics that should have restricted access. The vulnerability exists because the authorization check for the accept/unaccept solution actions can be circumvented for hidden Solved topics.

MitigationUpgrade to Discourse versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, or 2026.1.2. Alternatively, as a workaround, restrict the accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups Site Setting to only trusted users.

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
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
    Navigate to /admin dashboard or run `ruby -I lib -r version -e 'puts Discourse::VERSION::STRING'` to retrieve the installed version
    Affected if The installed version falls within >= 2026.1.0 and < 2026.1.2, >= 2026.2.0 and < 2026.2.1, or equals 2026.3.0
  2. Verify Solved plugin is enabled
    Check the Discourse plugin list at /admin/plugins or inspect the enabled_plugins site setting via the API
    Affected if The Solved plugin is installed and active
  3. Identify hidden Solved topics
    Query the database for topics with the solved plugin enabled that have a hidden status: SELECT t.id, t.title FROM topics t JOIN topic_custom_fields tcf ON t.id = tcf.topic_id WHERE tcf.name = 'solved' AND tcf.value = 'true' AND t.hidden = true
    Affected if There are hidden topics with the solved status enabled
  4. Check accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups setting
    Inspect the Site Setting at /admin/site_settings/category/security or via API: GET /admin/site_settings?filter=accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups
    Affected if The setting is not restricted to a limited trusted group (it allows broader access than intended)

A user is affected if running a vulnerable Discourse version with the Solved plugin enabled and there are hidden solved topics accessible to unauthorized users.

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 to Discourse versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, or 2026.1.2. Alternatively, as a workaround, restrict the accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups Site Setting to only trusted users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Discourse 2026.1.2, 2026.2.1, or 2026.3.0-latest.1 (choose the release line matching your current version)

  1. Identify your current Discourse version by checking the /admin dashboard or running `git pull` in your Discourse installation directory
  2. Backup your Discourse database and application data before proceeding with the upgrade
  3. If using Docker, update the image by editing your app.yml and changing the version tag to the appropriate fixed release (2026.1.2, 2026.2.1, or 2026.3.0-latest.1)
  4. Run `./launcher rebuild app` to rebuild the container with the new version
  5. If using non-Docker installation, run `git pull` to fetch the latest code and then `rake db:migrate` to apply any necessary database migrations
  6. Restart the Discourse application services
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version in /admin/dashboard
  8. As a supplemental mitigation, navigate to Site Settings and ensure accept_all_solutions_allowed_groups contains only trusted user groups

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

Fix this in Discourse Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2026-33251 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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