CVE-2026-48820: CakePHP: View::element() is missing a path containment check

Severity: medium (CVSS 6.3 v4.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-17 · updated 2026-06-23
Weakness: CWE-22

Description

CakePHP is a rapid development framework for PHP. In versions 4.5.11 and earlier, 4.6.0 through 4.6.3, 5.0.0 through 5.1.6, 5.2.0 through 5.2.12, and 5.3.0 through 5.3.5, View::_getElementFileName() does not check that the resolved element path is within the application/plugin view template paths. When element names are created with specifically crafted user-supplied data this weakness can be leveraged to include other PHP files on the server. Patched releases are available in 5.3.6, 5.2.13, 5.1.7, 4.6.4, and 4.5.11.

Affected products

cakephp: from 5.3.0, < 5.3.6; from 5.2.0, < 5.2.13; from 5.0.0, < 5.1.7; from 4.6.0, < 4.6.4; before 4.5.11

References

https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/security/advisories/GHSA-wpvj-hjcr-h3p2

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