Kirby: Pre-authentication path traversal and PHP file inclusion during user lookup

Summary

CVECVE-2026-44177
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-07-16 22:17:02 UTC
Updated2026-07-17 14:17:23 UTC
DescriptionKirby is an open-source content management system. In versions 5.3.0 and above but prior to 5.4.1, Kirby did not correctly validate the provided user ID, resulting in a path traversal vulnerability. Version 5.3.0 introduced a performance improvement to the Users collection that loaded user objects lazily when first needed. Users were queried by their ID, which was then used to locate the corresponding account directory under site/accounts. This affected the authentication API (accessible to unauthenticated requests), the users API (accessible only to authenticated users), and any other place that uses $users->find() to look up an individual user by a request-provided email or ID. As a result, an attacker could trigger arbitrary PHP file inclusion of files named  index.php (for example, the main PHP files of plugins), the impact of which depends on the logic those files contain. It also allowed probing for the existence of arbitrary directories on the server, letting attackers fingerprint the server and site setup, including installed plugins and the content structure. This issue has been fixed in version 5.4.1.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v4.0 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-98 | CWE-22 CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') | CWE-98 CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
4.0[email protected]Secondary8.8HIGHCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C...
4.0CNADECLARED8.8HIGHCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS v4.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Sub Conf.
None
Sub Integrity
None
Sub Availability
None

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Getkirby Kirby affected >= 5.3.0, < 5.4.1 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/5.4.1 [email protected] github.com
github.com/getkirby/kirby/security/advisories/GHSA-9hx7-c53c-v6x8 [email protected] github.com
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