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High, CVSS 8.1amended

phpMyFAQ's two-factor authentication login bypasses the password factor

CVE-2026-56737GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq 4.1.6; thorsten/phpmyfaq 4.1.6), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS
8.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
  • CVE-2026-56737: 0.53% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 44.67 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary The public two-factor verification endpoint POST /check logs a user in based solely on a valid 6-digit TOTP token and a chosen user-id. It does not require — and is not bound to — a prior successful password authentication. For any account that has 2FA enabled, an unauthenticated attacker can authenticate without knowing the password, reducing the account to a single factor (a 6-digit code) that is itself brute-forceable because this endpoint has no lockout (see Finding #2). This is an authentication bypass of the primary credential for all 2FA-protected accounts, including administrators. Details src/phpMyFAQ/Controller/Frontend/AuthenticationController.php:255-283: twoFactorSuccess() performs a complete session login (src/phpMyFAQ/User/CurrentUser.php:239-247): There is no server-side state (such as a "password already verified for this user" flag) tying the /check step to the password step. Compare the admin flow, which does it correctly via a 2fapendinguserid session…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5

  2. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-56737

Advisory: phpMyFAQ's two-factor authentication login bypasses the password factor
IDs: CVE-2026-56737, GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-56737 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:53 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.1)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq 4.1.6; thorsten/phpmyfaq 4.1.6. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq: affected >= 3.2.0, < 4.1.6; fixed in 4.1.6
- Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq: affected >= 3.2.0, < 4.1.6; fixed in 4.1.6

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq: 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 phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq, thorsten/phpmyfaq.
- 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5 (OSV record GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5 lists affected ranges: Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq >=3.2.0 =3.2.0 <4.1.6 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-8gpw-xvpf-hvx5 lists affected ranges: Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq >=3.2.0 =3.2.0 <4.1.6)

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