dbcve.org
K2Application · Joomlaworks

CVE-2026-48944

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.26 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click 8 weeks old

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
The K2 frontend article-save handler accepts an `attachment[N][existing]` POST field that is concatenated with `JPATH_SITE/` and passed to `JFile::copy()`. `JPath::clean` does NOT strip `..`, and there is no allow-list of source paths. An Author can therefore copy `configuration.php` (or any other file readable by the web user — including `../../../etc/passwd`) into `/media/k2/attachments/`, then retrieve the contents via the K2 attachment-download endpoint.

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

K2 component for Joomla contains a path traversal vulnerability in the frontend article-save handler. The `attachment[N][existing]` POST parameter is concatenated with `JPATH_SITE/` and passed to `JFile::copy()` without sanitizing `..` sequences. Since `JPath::clean` does not strip path traversal sequences and no allow-list exists, an authenticated Author can copy sensitive files (like configuration.php or /etc/passwd) to the /media/k2/attachments/ directory and retrieve them via the download endpoint.

MitigationImplement path traversal protection by validating that the source path does not contain `..` sequences and/or implementing an allow-list of permitted source paths within the JPATH_SITE boundary before passing to JFile::copy().

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
K2Application
Affected:<= 2.26

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Confirm K2 component is installed
    Navigate to Joomla admin > Components menu and look for K2, or check for /administrator/components/com_k2/ directory on the filesystem
    Affected if K2 component is present on the Joomla installation
  2. Identify installed K2 version
    In Joomla admin, go to Components > K2 > K2 Parameters, or inspect the version.php file in /administrator/components/com_k2/
    Affected if Version is 2.26 or lower (the vulnerable version range)
  3. Verify Author-level user access exists
    In Joomla admin, go to Users > Manage and check for users with Author access level, or review the K2-specific user group assignments in K2 user groups
    Affected if Any user account with Author role or K2 Author group membership exists
  4. Check for unexpected files in attachments directory
    List files in /media/k2/attachments/ directory - look for system files like configuration.php, .htaccess, or files outside expected media types
    Affected if Files are present that were not explicitly uploaded through the K2 media manager or are located outside the expected attachments structure
  5. Inspect web server access logs for suspicious POST requests
    Review access logs for POST requests to index.php with option=com_k2 and task=save (or similar article-save handler) containing unusual file paths in attachment[N][existing] parameters
    Affected if Logs show POST requests with path traversal sequences (such as ../../../) in attachment parameters from Author-level users

A user is affected if K2 version 2.26 or lower is installed and any Author-level user account exists on the Joomla site, particularly if unexpected files appear in /media/k2/attachments/ or suspicious POST activity is logged.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.26
Interim mitigation

Implement path traversal protection by validating that the source path does not contain `..` sequences and/or implementing an allow-list of permitted source paths within the JPATH_SITE boundary before passing to JFile::copy().

Fix this in K2 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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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.

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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-2026-48944 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