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CWE-307Weakness · CWE-307

CVE-2026-45010

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains an improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts vulnerability in the /admin/check endpoint, which accepts arbitrary user-id parameters without session binding or rate limiting. Unauthenticated attackers can brute-force any user's six-digit TOTP code by submitting POST requests with sequential token values, bypassing two-factor authentication to gain full administrative access.

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 4.1.2 has an improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts in the /admin/check endpoint. The endpoint accepts arbitrary user-id parameters without session binding or rate limiting, allowing unauthenticated attackers to brute-force six-digit TOTP codes via sequential POST requests and bypass two-factor authentication to gain administrative access.

MitigationUpgrade to phpMyFAQ 4.1.2 or later. Additionally, implement rate limiting, session binding for TOTP verification, and account lockout mechanisms on the /admin/check endpoint.

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check phpMyFAQ version
    Locate the version file or check the admin dashboard for the installed phpMyFAQ version number. Common locations include a VERSION file in the root directory or the admin panel about section.
    Affected if The installed version is before 4.1.2 (e.g., 4.1.1, 4.1.0, 3.x.x, etc.)
  2. Verify /admin/check endpoint accessibility
    Attempt to access the /admin/check endpoint via HTTP GET or POST from an unauthenticated context. Inspect if the endpoint responds without requiring prior authentication or session validation.
    Affected if The endpoint is reachable without authentication and accepts user-id parameters in the request
  3. Confirm TOTP-based two-factor authentication is enabled
    Log into the admin panel and navigate to user account settings or security configuration. Check if TOTP/2FA is activated for administrative accounts.
    Affected if TOTP 2FA is enabled and the /admin/check endpoint accepts TOTP codes without session binding or rate limiting
  4. Inspect rate limiting configuration
    Review the web server configuration (Apache/Nginx), phpMyFAQ configuration files, or any WAF rules for rate limiting on the /admin/check endpoint. Look for rules restricting excessive authentication attempts.
    Affected if No rate limiting, account lockout, or session binding mechanisms are configured for the /admin/check endpoint

You are affected if phpMyFAQ version is before 4.1.2 AND the /admin/check endpoint is exposed without rate limiting or session binding, and TOTP 2FA is in use.

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 4.1.2 or later. Additionally, implement rate limiting, session binding for TOTP verification, and account lockout mechanisms on the /admin/check endpoint.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

phpMyFAQ 4.1.2 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current phpMyFAQ installation and database before making any changes.
  2. 2. Download phpMyFAQ version 4.1.2 or later from the official repository (github.com/phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq).
  3. 3. Replace the existing phpMyFAQ files with the new version, preserving your configuration and database connection settings.
  4. 4. Verify the /admin/check endpoint now properly enforces rate limiting or session binding for TOTP authentication attempts.
  5. 5. Test that two-factor authentication works correctly after the upgrade.
  6. 6. Monitor logs for any continued brute-force attempts and consider implementing additional web application firewall rules as a defense-in-depth measure.
Caveat Review the changelog between your current version and 4.1.2 for any breaking changes to custom templates, plugins, or integrations

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

Have this fixed 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-2026-45010 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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