CVE-2026-44196
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 · uneditedPingvin Share X is a secure and easy self-hosted file sharing platform. From 1.14.1 to 1.16.2, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability allows an attacker who has obtained a valid username and password to skip the second-factor authentication (TOTP) requirement entirely. Although, an attacker still needs the user's password to reach this stage. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.3.
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 confidencePingvin Share X versions 1.14.1 through 1.16.2 contain a critical authentication bypass vulnerability where an attacker with valid username and password can completely bypass the TOTP (time-based one-time password) second-factor authentication requirement, gaining full account access without completing 2FA.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Pingvin Share X versionCheck the installed version of Pingvin Share X by reviewing the application configuration, package metadata, or the admin interface version displayAffected if The installed version is 1.14.1, 1.14.2, 1.15.0, 1.15.1, 1.15.2, 1.16.0, 1.16.1, or 1.16.2 (any version from 1.14.1 through 1.16.2)
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Confirm TOTP 2FA is enabledReview user account settings in Pingvin Share X admin panel or user profile to determine if time-based one-time password (TOTP) authentication is configured for any accountAffected if At least one user account has TOTP-based two-factor authentication enabled in the application
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Verify login authentication flowTest the login process with valid credentials for a TOTP-enabled account - observe whether the application accepts the username/password without prompting for or requiring the TOTP code to complete authenticationAffected if The application grants full session access after username/password alone without enforcing TOTP code entry for accounts with 2FA enabled
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Check application logs for authentication anomaliesReview Pingvin Share X authentication and security logs for any successful logins to TOTP-protected accounts that lack corresponding TOTP validation eventsAffected if Log entries show successful authentications bypassing TOTP verification for accounts where 2FA should be required
A user is affected if Pingvin Share X version 1.14.1 through 1.16.2 is running AND TOTP-based two-factor authentication is enabled for at least one account, allowing authentication bypass after providing only username and password.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade Pingvin Share X to version 1.16.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the login endpoint and implement enhanced monitoring for authentication anomalies.
1.16.3
- Back up your existing Pingvin Share installation and database
- Upgrade Pingvin Share to version 1.16.3 or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number
- Ensure TOTP authentication is functioning correctly after upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-44196 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-44196 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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