CVE-2026-56396: phpMyFAQ - Privilege Escalation via Missing Authorization in editUser() and updateUserRights()

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-21 · updated 2026-06-23
Weakness: CWE-862

Description

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.4 contains missing authorization vulnerabilities in editUser() and updateUserRights() endpoints that allow authenticated administrators to escalate privileges. Non-SuperAdmin users with edit_user permission can set is_superadmin flag or grant arbitrary rights to escalate to SuperAdmin access.

Affected products

thorsten phpMyFAQ: before 4.1.4 — fixed in 4.1.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: thorsten phpMyFAQ 4.1.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-985r-q3qp-299h
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-privilege-escalation-via-missing-authorization-in-edituser-and-updateuserrights
https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-985r-q3qp-299h

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