CVE-2022-36068: Discourse moderators can edit themes via the API

Severity: medium (CVSS 4.3 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.9% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2022-09-29 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-862

Description

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In versions prior to 2.8.9 on the `stable` branch and prior to 2.9.0.beta10 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, a moderator can create new and edit existing themes by using the API when they should not be able to do so. The problem is patched in version 2.8.9 on the `stable` branch and version 2.9.0.beta10 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Affected products

discourse: before 2.8.9; 2.9.0-beta1, 2.9.0-beta2, 2.9.0-beta3, 2.9.0-beta4, 2.9.0-beta5, 2.9.0-beta6 (+3) — fixed in 2.8.9

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: discourse 2.8.9. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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