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Incorrect Privilege AssignmentWeakness · CWE-266

CVE-2026-35671

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.3 contains an insecure direct object reference vulnerability in the admin API user password endpoint that allows authenticated administrators to change any user's password without authorization verification. An attacker with low-privilege admin credentials can escalate to SuperAdmin by modifying the userId parameter in the overwrite-password API request.

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

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.3 has an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability in the admin API's overwrite-password endpoint. Authenticated administrators can change any user's password by manipulating the userId parameter without proper authorization verification, enabling privilege escalation from low-privilege admin to SuperAdmin.

MitigationUpgrade to phpMyFAQ 4.1.3 or later. Alternatively, implement proper authorization checks in the password overwrite API to verify the requesting admin has permission to modify the target user's password, particularly preventing modification of higher-privilege accounts.

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

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 phpMyFAQ installation and version
    Locate the phpMyFAQ installation directory and check the version file (often in a VERSION file, changelog, or the footer of admin pages). Common paths include the root directory or a config file that stores the version string.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.1.3 (e.g., 4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.0.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm admin API endpoint accessibility
    Verify the admin API is accessible by checking if the /api endpoint or specifically the password overwrite endpoint exists in the web application's routing. This is typically found in the admin panel or through API documentation/discovery.
    Affected if The admin API overwrite-password endpoint is reachable and accepts requests from authenticated administrators
  3. Check for authorization validation on password modification API
    Examine the API code or configuration for the overwrite-password endpoint to determine if userId parameter is validated against the requesting admin's permissions. Look for authorization checks before allowing password changes to arbitrary user IDs.
    Affected if The endpoint accepts a userId parameter without verifying the requesting admin has permission to modify that specific user's password, allowing any authenticated admin to change any user's password

A user is affected if phpMyFAQ version is below 4.1.3 AND the admin API overwrite-password endpoint is accessible to authenticated administrators without proper authorization checks on the userId parameter.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to phpMyFAQ 4.1.3 or later. Alternatively, implement proper authorization checks in the password overwrite API to verify the requesting admin has permission to modify the target user's password, particularly preventing modification of higher-privilege accounts.

Recommended fix High confidence

phpMyFAQ 4.1.3

  1. Backup the current phpMyFAQ installation and database before proceeding with any changes
  2. Download phpMyFAQ version 4.1.3 from the official phpMyFAQ repository or distribution source
  3. Extract the downloaded archive and replace the existing phpMyFAQ files with the new version
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the admin dashboard version display
  5. Test that the password change endpoint now properly validates user authorization before allowing password modifications
Caveat Review the phpMyFAQ 4.1.3 release notes for any breaking changes or database migrations required before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
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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-2026-35671 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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