Privilege escalation in Phpmyfaq
CVE-2026-57996
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover.
Vulnerability class: Privilege Escalation
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.004 (37.4th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 37th percentile — 37.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Phpmyfaq — versions 0, 4.1.5
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9 (vendor-advisory)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-privilege-escalation-via-missing-superadm… (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-57996?
- CVE-2026-57996 is a high-severity vulnerability in Phpmyfaq, classified under Improper Privilege Management. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-07-15.
- How severe is CVE-2026-57996?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.