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Joomla\!Application · Joomla

CVE-2026-35222

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.6 / 6.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Improperly validated order clauses lead to a SQL injection vulnerability in com_tags.

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 · moderate confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in com_tags component stemming from improperly validated ORDER BY clause parameters. User-supplied input in the order clause is not correctly sanitized before being used in dynamic SQL query construction, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands.

MitigationImplement strict allowlist validation for ORDER BY parameters (only permitting known-good column names/aliases), or use a parameterized approach with a mapping layer. Audit other query-building code for similar injection patterns.

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
Joomla\!Application
Affected:>= 3.0.0, < 5.4.6>= 6.0.0, < 6.1.1

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

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

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. Identify installed Joomla version
    Access the backend admin panel and navigate to System > System Information, or check the version.php file in the Joomla root directory (libraries/cms/version.php or simply look for a VERSION file in the root)
    Affected if The installed version falls within 3.0.0 to 5.4.5, or 6.0.0 to 6.1.0
  2. Confirm com_tags component presence
    Check if the com_tags component directory exists at /components/com_tags/ in the Joomla installation
    Affected if The com_tags directory exists in the components folder
  3. Verify tags component is in use
    Review the site's published articles and menu items to determine if any tags functionality is actively used or published on the site
    Affected if Tags functionality is enabled and accessible on the site
  4. Check for order clause parameter handling
    Review server access logs for requests to the tags component (index.php?option=com_tags) containing orderby, ordering, or similar parameters in the query string
    Affected if The site processes URL parameters for ordering tags without sanitization

The environment is affected if Joomla version is between 3.0.0-5.4.5 or 6.0.0-6.1.0 AND the com_tags component is installed and accessible on the site.

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 5.4.6 / 6.1.1 or later
Fixed in 5.4.66.1.1
Interim mitigation

Implement strict allowlist validation for ORDER BY parameters (only permitting known-good column names/aliases), or use a parameterized approach with a mapping layer. Audit other query-building code for similar injection patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

Joomla 5.4.6 for 5.x branch; Joomla 6.1.1 for 6.x branch

  1. 1. Backup your Joomla database and files before proceeding
  2. 2. Download the appropriate Joomla version from developer.joomla.org (either 5.4.6 or 6.1.1)
  3. 3. If upgrading from Joomla 5.x to 5.4.6: Extract the update package and upload to your server, then visit your site to complete the migration
  4. 4. If upgrading from Joomla 6.x to 6.1.1: Extract the update package and upload to your server, then visit your site to complete the migration
  5. 5. Verify the com_tags component is functioning correctly after upgrade
  6. 6. Test that the SQL injection vulnerability is no longer exploitable by reviewing application logs
Caveat Patch releases (5.4.5 to 5.4.6) typically have minimal breaking changes; major branch upgrade (5.x to 6.x) may require compatibility testing of extensions

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

Fix this in Joomla\! Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2026-35222 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