Auth bypass in Discourse

CVE-2025-69218

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In versions prior to 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0, moderators can access the `top_uploads` admin report which should be restricted to admins only. This report displays direct URLs to all uploaded files on the site, including sensitive content such as user data exports, admin backups, and other private attachments that moderators should not have access to. This issue is patched in versions 3.5.4, 2025.11.2, 2025.12.1, and 2026.1.0. There is no workaround. Limit moderator privileges to trusted users until the patch is applied.

Vulnerability class: Broken Access Control

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (15.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 16th percentile — 15.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-69218: held from 0.002 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Discourse — versions >= 2026.1.0-latest, < 2026.1.0, >= 2025.12.0-latest, < 2025.12.1, < 3.5.4

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-69218?
CVE-2025-69218 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Discourse, classified under Incorrect Authorization. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2026-01-28.
How severe is CVE-2025-69218?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.