Medium Access control

CVE-2026-45009 — phpMyFAQ - Insufficient Authorization Check in Admin API Endpoints

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains an insufficient authorization vulnerability in admin-api routes that allows authenticated ordinary users to access administrative endpoints by only checking login status instead of verifying backend privileges. Attackers with valid frontend user accounts can access sensitive backend operational information including dashboard versions, LDAP configuration, Elasticsearch statistics, and health-check data.

Published May 15, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: VulnCheck

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+3
Technical severity (medium)+3
CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

0.28%

ahead of 19% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Thorsten

Phpmyfaq

CVSS base

4.3

Medium · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

Proof of concept

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Thorsten Phpmyfaq).
No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Thorsten	Phpmyfaq	≥ 4.1.1 and < 4.1.2	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
5.3	CVSS 4.0	Medium	—	—	disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.3	CVSS 4.0	Medium	—	—	VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
4.3	CVSS 3.1	Medium	2.8	1.4	disclosure@vulncheck.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
4.3	CVSS 3.1	Medium	—	—	VulnCheck via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: disclosure@vulncheck.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.28%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · thorsten/phpmyfaq
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
CVSS changed · 4.3
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Deferred
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
May 15, 2026 · VulnCheck

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

2 on the record

github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-jrc5-w569-h7h5
vendor-advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-insufficient-authorization-check-in-admin-api-end
third-party-advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Thorsten
every CVE for this vendor

Access control
same class

CWE-863
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

High CVE-2026-109573 phpMyFAQ before 4.1.9 SQL Injection via api/autocomplete Search Endpoint 2d
Low CVE-2026-108851 phpMyFAQ through 4.1.10 Missing Authorization via MCP Server faq_search Tool 4d
Medium CVE-2026-49205 phpMyFAQ: Missing userHasPermission() in 4 API write endpoints (CVE-2026-24421 Incomplete Fix) Jun 18, 2026
Low CVE-2026-48488 phpMyFAQ has Weak Cryptography - SHA1 for Password Hashing Jun 8, 2026
High CVE-2026-35671 phpMyFAQ - Insecure Direct Object Reference in User Password API May 28, 2026
High CVE-2026-35675 phpMyFAQ - Authentication Bypass via Missing Password Reset Token in /api/user/password/update May 28, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-45009 is "phpMyFAQ - Insufficient Authorization Check in Admin API Endpoints", rated Medium. It affects Phpmyfaq (Thorsten); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 4.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.28% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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