CVE-2026-85990 — Leantime: Any Authenticated User Can Self-Escalate to Admin via Unauthorized JSON-RPC Methods
Leantime is an open source project management system. Prior to 3.10.0, for the provisionally grouped account-creation and plugin-management surfaces, Leantime's JSON-RPC dispatcher in app/Domain/Api/Controllers/Jsonrpc.php exposes public API service methods, while PermissionEnforcer::enforce allows methods that lack a RequiresPermission attribute. A low-privilege authenticated user with an ordinary browser session can send the required X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest header and call leantime.rpc.api.api.createApiKeyWithProjects, which reaches Api::createApiKeyWithProjects, with an attacker-chosen role to create an interactive administrator account. The same missing per-method authorization exposes Plugins::installPlugin, Plugins::enablePlugin, Plugins::disablePlugin, and Plugins::removePlugin to ordinary authenticated users, permitting unauthorized plugin management. The complete provisionally grouped issue is fixed in version 3.10.0.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+4
- Technical severity (high)+6
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.
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 (Leantime Leantime).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (privilege escalation), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 2.8 | 5.9 | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
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).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · leantime/leantime
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 8.8
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
6 on the record
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/pull/3583
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/commit/7ebf7a9517e2aaa05ec15b8130ab1841a4bde43e
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/commit/5605e5ee86bbd01acb85c6b5d8fb337faf8bcf02
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/security/advisories/GHSA-54mm-6729-r5wp
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/pull/3797
- github.com/Leantime/leantime/releases/tag/v3.10.0
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-92772 Leantime before 3.9.6 Unauthorized Plugin Installation via HTMX 29d
- High CVE-2026-54418 Leantime - Missing Authorization on TwoFA JSON-RPC Methods Allows Cross-Account 2FA Secret Disclosure and Bypass Aug 5, 2026
- High CVE-2026-66415 Leantime Server-Side Request Forgery and Local File Inclusion in Blueprints::import() Jul 30, 2026
- High CVE-2026-66416 Leantime CSRF Protection Globally Disabled by Omission of Laravel VerifyCsrfToken Middleware Jul 30, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-66414 Leantime Open Redirect in Login Controller via redirectUrl Parameter Jul 30, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-66412 Leantime all versions prior to and 3.6.2 Broken Access Control via tickets.getMilestone JSON-RPC Jul 27, 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 CISA SSVC assessment.
- 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-2026-85990 is "Leantime: Any Authenticated User Can Self-Escalate to Admin via Unauthorized JSON-RPC Methods", rated High. It affects Leantime (Leantime); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.33% 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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