CVE-2026-59227: Open WebUI POST /api/v1/images/edit Bypasses The Global Vulnerability

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-rqj7-6wrp-6g2g",
  "modified" : "2026-07-24T16:58:48Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-24T16:58:48Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-59227" ],
  "summary" : "Open WebUI: POST /api/v1/images/edit bypasses the global image-edit switch and the per-user image-generation permission",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\n`POST /api/v1/images/edit` performed no authorization beyond requiring a verified account. Every other image-editing surface in Open WebUI enforces the global image-edit switch and the per-user image-generation permission — the `/api/v1/images/generations` route, the built-in `edit_image` tool, and the chat image-edit middleware — but the direct edit route enforced neither. A verified non-admin user could therefore invoke server-side image editing, reaching the configured image-edit provider with the administrator's credentials, even when the administrator had globally disabled image editing (`ENABLE_IMAGE_EDIT=False`) or denied that user image-generation permission. The image-editing UI is surfaced only to administrators (Playground), so the route additionally exposed an admin-only capability to any verified user.\n\n## Impact\n\nAn authenticated, non-admin user can:\n\n- bypass the global `ENABLE_IMAGE_EDIT=False` administrator control;\n- bypass a denied per-user/group `features.image_generation` permission;\n- cause the server to send billable image-edit requests to the configured provider (OpenAI-compatible, Gemini, or ComfyUI) using administrator-configured credentials (`IMAGES_EDIT_OPENAI_API_KEY` for the OpenAI engine).\n\nNo cross-user data is exposed and the provider credentials are never returned to the caller; the impact is the control/permission bypass and the associated billable resource consumption.\n\n## Affected Versions\n\n`>= 0.8.11, < 0.10.0` (the `/api/v1/images/edit` route was introduced in 0.8.11 and was ungated from the outset). Fixed in **v0.10.0**.\n\n## Details\n\n`/api/v1/images/generations` enforces `ENABLE_IMAGE_GENERATION` (403 if globally disabled) and `features.image_generation` (403 for non-admins without the permission). The `edit_image` built-in tool and the chat image-edit middleware likewise gate on `ENABLE_IMAGE_EDIT` and `features.image_generation`. The direct `POST /api/v1/images/edit` route ran on `Depends(get_verified_user)` alone and proceeded straight to provider dispatch, applying none of these controls.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n\nAs a verified non-admin user, with image editing globally disabled (`ENABLE_IMAGE_EDIT=False`) or `features.image_generation` denied for the user:\n\n```http\nPOST /api/v1/images/edit\nAuthorization: Bearer <non_admin_user_token>\nContent-Type: application/json\n\n{\"image\":\"data:image/png;base64,<png>\",\"prompt\":\"edit\",\"model\":\"gpt-image-1\"}\n```\n\nThe request reaches the configured image-edit provider and returns an edited image despite the disabled control/permission.\n\n## Patch\n\nThe direct route is split from its shared implementation (mirroring `generate_images`/`image_generations`): a thin `/edit` route now enforces `ENABLE_IMAGE_EDIT` and the per-user `features.image_generation` permission before delegating to the shared `image_edits()` implementation. The internal callers (the `edit_image` tool and the chat middleware) call the implementation directly and already gate themselves, so they are unaffected.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "open-webui"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.8.11"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.10.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-rqj7-6wrp-6g2g"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59227"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/26009"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/e038bab66dec8d17212eec35b5cb6d6b785a4200"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/releases/tag/v0.10.0"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-862", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-24T16:58:48Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-07-09T17:17:04Z"
  }
}