CVE-2026-28781: Craft CMS Entries Authorship Spoofing Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2xfc-g69j-x2mp
CWE-639 CWE-915
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-28781 is a MODERATE entries authorship spoofing vulnerability (CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key) affecting Craft CMS libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves entries authorship spoofing via mass assignment. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.9.0-beta.1, 4.17.0-beta.1.

CVE-2026-28781 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-28781
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2xfc-g69j-x2mp
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Affected Product Craft CMS
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-28781

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Craft CMS dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

craftcms/cms fixed: 5.9.0-beta.1
Upgrade craftcms/cms to 5.9.0-beta.1
craftcms/cms fixed: 4.17.0-beta.1
Upgrade craftcms/cms to 4.17.0-beta.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-28781, inspect your project dependencies for Craft CMS:

inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Craft CMS in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.9.0-beta.1), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key, where the system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data. In Craft CMS, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

## Description The entry creation process allows for **Mass Assignment** of the `authorId` attribute. A user with "Create Entries" permission can inject the `authorIds[]` (or `authorId`) parameter into the POST request, which the backend processes without verifying if the current user is authorized to assign authorship to others. Normally, this field is not present in the request for users without the necessary permissions. By manually adding this parameter, an attacker can attribute the new entry to any user, including Admins. This effectively "spoofs" the authorship. ## Proof of Concept ### Prerequisites - A user account with "Create Entries" permission for a section. - Victim's account ID (e.g., `1` for the default Admin). ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Log in as the attacker 1. Navigate to the "Entries" section and click "New Entry" 1. Fill in the required fields 1. Enable a proxy tool (e.g., Burp Suite) to intercept requests 1. Click "Save" & Intercept the request 1. In the request body, add a new parameter to the body params: `&authorIds[]=<Victim_ID>` 1. Forward the request 1. Log in as an admin / as with the victim account 1. Go to entries & Observe the newly created entry is listed and the author is the victim account, not the actual creator ## Impact - A user can create entries that appear to belong to higher-privileged users, potentially bypassing review processes or gaining trust based on false authorship. - An attacker could post malicious or inappropriate content attributed to an administrator or other trusted users. ## Resources https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/c6dcbdffaf6ab3ffe77d317336684d83699f4542 https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/830b403870cd784b47ae42a3f5a16e7ac2d7f5a8

CVE-2026-28781 Affected Craft CMS Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.9.0-beta.14.17.0-beta.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
craftcms/cms
Packagist
≥ 5.0.0-RC1
< 5.9.0-beta.1
5.9.0-beta.1
craftcms/cms
Packagist
≥ 4.0.0-RC1
< 4.17.0-beta.1
4.17.0-beta.1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-28781?
CVE-2026-28781 is a security vulnerability in Craft CMS involving Entries Authorship Spoofing via Mass Assignment under CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key.
Which Craft CMS versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.9.0-beta.1, 4.17.0-beta.1 across affected packages: craftcms/cms.
What version fixes CVE-2026-28781?
Upgrading to 5.9.0-beta.1, 4.17.0-beta.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is craftcms/cms affected?
Yes, craftcms/cms is affected in releases prior to 5.9.0-beta.1, 4.17.0-beta.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.9.0-beta.1, 4.17.0-beta.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-28781?
CVE-2026-28781 is classified under CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key (The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2026-28781?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-2xfc-g69j-x2mp",
  "modified" : "2026-03-04T18:39:05Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-03T21:00:51Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-28781" ],
  "summary" : "Craft CMS: Entries Authorship Spoofing via Mass Assignment",
  "details" : "## Description\nThe entry creation process allows for **Mass Assignment** of the `authorId` attribute. A user with \"Create Entries\" permission can inject the `authorIds[]` (or `authorId`) parameter into the POST request, which the backend processes without verifying if the current user is authorized to assign authorship to others.\n\nNormally, this field is not present in the request for users without the necessary permissions. By manually adding this parameter, an attacker can attribute the new entry to any user, including Admins. This effectively \"spoofs\" the authorship.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n### Prerequisites\n- A user account with \"Create Entries\" permission for a section.\n- Victim's account ID (e.g., `1` for the default Admin).\n\n### Steps to Reproduce\n1. Log in as the attacker\n1. Navigate to the \"Entries\" section and click \"New Entry\"\n1. Fill in the required fields\n1. Enable a proxy tool (e.g., Burp Suite) to intercept requests\n1. Click \"Save\" & Intercept the request\n1. In the request body, add a new parameter to the body params: `&authorIds[]=<Victim_ID>`\n1. Forward the request\n1. Log in as an admin / as with the victim account\n1. Go to entries & Observe the newly created entry is listed and the author is the victim account, not the actual creator\n\n## Impact\n- A user can create entries that appear to belong to higher-privileged users, potentially bypassing review processes or gaining trust based on false authorship.\n- An attacker could post malicious or inappropriate content attributed to an administrator or other trusted users.\n\n## Resources\n\nhttps://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/c6dcbdffaf6ab3ffe77d317336684d83699f4542\nhttps://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/830b403870cd784b47ae42a3f5a16e7ac2d7f5a8",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "craftcms/cms"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.0.0-RC1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.9.0-beta.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "craftcms/cms"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.0.0-RC1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.17.0-beta.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/security/advisories/GHSA-2xfc-g69j-x2mp"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-28781"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/830b403870cd784b47ae42a3f5a16e7ac2d7f5a8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/c6dcbdffaf6ab3ffe77d317336684d83699f4542"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-639", "CWE-915" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-03T21:00:51Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-04T17:16:21Z"
  }
}