Is this vulnerability remotely exploitable over the internet?

Yes. If the Discourse instance and its user directory are accessible over the internet, any remote user—including unauthenticated visitors—can exploit the issue by calling the affected endpoint with crafted `user_field_ids` parameters.

Does an attacker need a valid user account to exploit this?

No. The flaw exists at the authorization layer, not the authentication layer. As long as the user directory is enabled and reachable, anonymous requests can retrieve private field values for users listed in the directory.

What is the safest general fix pattern for this type of bug?

The safest pattern is to centralize field-level access control and enforce it consistently for every endpoint that exposes user attributes. Rather than trusting caller-supplied IDs, the server should derive the set of allowed fields from the current user's permissions and global visibility rules, then intersect that with any client request.

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

Authorization Bypass (CWE-863) in Discourse Directory Items Endpoint Exposes Private User Fields

CVE-2026-26265

Published:

Feb 26, 2026

Status:

Analyzed

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

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CRITICAL

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SQL Injection via PostgreSQL Array/Row Expressions (CWE-89) in WeKnora Query Engine

Remote Code Execution via SQL Injection on the Database Server

March 7, 2026

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass / Insecure Authorization

CWE:

CWE-863;CWE-639

Impact:

Exposure of Sensitive User Information

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass / Insecure Authorization

CWE:

CWE-863;CWE-639

Impact:

Exposure of Sensitive User Information

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

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Ask AI for summary of CodeAnt

Authorization Bypass (CWE-863) in Discourse Directory Items Endpoint Exposes Private User Fields

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

CRITICAL RISK

CRITICAL

(9.9)

Command Injection in MCP Stdio Configuration Validation (CWE-78) in WeKnora

CRITICAL RISK

CRITICAL

(9.9)

SQL Injection via PostgreSQL Array/Row Expressions (CWE-89) in WeKnora Query Engine

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

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