CVE-2026-26980: Ghost SQL Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97
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CVSS 9.4
CWE-89
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-26980 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.4) sql injection vulnerability (CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')) affecting Ghost libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves ghost has a sql injection in content api. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.19.1.

CVE-2026-26980 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-26980
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.4
CWE Classification CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Affected Product Ghost
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2026-26980

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

ghost fixed: 6.19.1 
npm install ghost@6.19.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

npm ls ghost

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2026-26980, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ghost

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ghost in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.19.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ghost command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an sql command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended sql command when it is sent to a downstream component. without sufficient removal or quoting of sql syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated sql query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as sql instead of ordinary user data. In Ghost, 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

### Impact A SQL injection vulnerability existed in Ghost's Content API that allowed unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary data from the database. ### Vulnerable Versions This vulnerability is present in Ghost v3.24.0 to v6.19.0. ### Patches v6.19.1 contains a fix for this issue. **Note:** as this vulnerability lets an attacker gain access to a site's API keys, we recommend reviewing staff users and rotating keys. We generally recommend always updating Ghost to its most current version. ### Workarounds There is no application-level workaround. The Content API key is public by design, so restricting key access does not mitigate this vulnerability. As a temporary mitigation, a reverse proxy or WAF rule can be used to block Content API requests containing `slug%3A%5B` or `slug:[` in the query string filter parameter. Note that this may break legitimate slug filter functionality. ### References We thank Nicholas Carlini using Claude, Anthropic for disclosing this vulnerability responsibly. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [security@ghost.org](mailto:security@ghost.org).

CVE-2026-26980 Affected Ghost Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.19.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ghost
npm/ghost
npm
≥ 3.24.0
< 6.19.1
6.19.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/security/advisories/GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97
NVD — CVE-2026-26980 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26980
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/30868d632b2252b638bc8a4c8ebf73964592ed91
blog.xlab.qianxin.com/ghost-cms-page-pois... WEB
https://blog.xlab.qianxin.com/ghost-cms-page-poisoning-cve-2026-26980
Ghost Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost
Ghost Release RELEASE
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.19.1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-26980?
CVE-2026-26980 is a security vulnerability in Ghost involving Ghost has a SQL injection in Content API under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection').
Which Ghost versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.19.1 across affected packages: ghost.
What version fixes CVE-2026-26980?
Upgrading to 6.19.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ghost affected?
Yes, ghost is affected in releases prior to 6.19.1. Upgrade your dependency to 6.19.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-26980?
CVE-2026-26980 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.4 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-26980?
CVE-2026-26980 is classified under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2026-26980?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ghost'. 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
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97",
  "modified" : "2026-06-08T23:22:31Z",
  "published" : "2026-02-18T21:50:23Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-26980" ],
  "summary" : "Ghost has a SQL injection in Content API",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nA SQL injection vulnerability existed in Ghost's Content API that allowed unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary data from the database. \n\n### Vulnerable Versions\n\nThis vulnerability is present in Ghost v3.24.0 to v6.19.0.\n\n### Patches\n\nv6.19.1 contains a fix for this issue. \n\n**Note:** as this vulnerability lets an attacker gain access to a site's API keys, we recommend reviewing staff users and rotating keys. We generally recommend always updating Ghost to its most current version. \n\n### Workarounds\n\nThere is no application-level workaround. The Content API key is public by design, so restricting key access does not mitigate this vulnerability.\n\nAs a temporary mitigation, a reverse proxy or WAF rule can be used to block Content API requests containing `slug%3A%5B` or `slug:[` in the query string filter parameter. Note that this may break legitimate slug filter functionality.\n\n### References\n\nWe thank Nicholas Carlini using Claude, Anthropic for disclosing this vulnerability responsibly. \n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [security@ghost.org](mailto:security@ghost.org).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ghost"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.24.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.19.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/security/advisories/GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26980"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/30868d632b2252b638bc8a4c8ebf73964592ed91"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://blog.xlab.qianxin.com/ghost-cms-page-poisoning-cve-2026-26980"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.19.1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-89" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-02-18T21:50:23Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-02-20T02:16:54Z"
  }
}