Pheditor: Hardcoded default password 'admin' with no forced change enables full application compromise

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

9.8 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-55579: 0.79% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 56.38 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary Pheditor ships with a hardcoded default password admin (SHA-512 hash stored at pheditor.php:11). There is no mechanism to force a password change on first login. Any deployment using the default credentials grants an attacker full access to the file editor, file upload, and terminal features, enabling arbitrary file read/write and remote code execution. Details Tested repository: https://github.com/pheditor/pheditor Tested commit: e538f05b6faec99e5b23726bc9c17d6b57774297 (current HEAD on main) Affected version: All versions of Pheditor The password is hardcoded at pheditor.php:11: This is the SHA-512 hash of the string admin: The application displays a warning banner at pheditor.php:1956-1958 when the default password is in use, but this is only visual — there is no forced password change, no expiry, no lockout, and no setup wizard. Many deployments run with the default indefinitely. The password hash is stored as unsalted SHA-512 in the source code. The password change…

Published by the source

16 Jul 2026, 20:11 UTC

Last modified by the source

16 Jul 2026, 20:11 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:50 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-p4h7-p9rj-2pq2

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-55579

Advisory: Pheditor: Hardcoded default password 'admin' with no forced change enables full application compromise
IDs: CVE-2026-55579, GHSA-p4h7-p9rj-2pq2
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-55579 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:50 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: pheditor/pheditor 2.0.6. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist pheditor/pheditor: affected >= 2.0.1, < 2.0.6; fixed in 2.0.6

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist pheditor/pheditor: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on pheditor/pheditor.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-p4h7-p9rj-2pq2 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-p4h7-p9rj-2pq2 lists affected ranges: Packagist pheditor/pheditor >=2.0.1 <2.0.6)

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