XenForo < 2.3.13 Authentication Bypass via OAuth2 Token Endpoint
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-73309 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | VulnCheck |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-08 14:17:24 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-11 20:33:42 UTC |
| Description | XenForo before 2.3.13 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the OAuth2 token endpoint that allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain valid token pairs by submitting empty values for client_secret and code_verifier parameters. Attackers can exploit PHP truthy evaluation logic, which treats empty strings as false and skips client secret validation and PKCE code verifier validation, to exchange a valid authorization code for a token pair without proving client identity or holding the PKCE commitment. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 9.1 CRITICAL from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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
EPSS: 0.004760000 probability, percentile 0.397500000 (date 2026-09-14)
Problem Types: CWE-697 | CWE-697 Incorrect Comparison
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 9.1 | CRITICAL | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 9.1 | CRITICAL | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 9.1 | CRITICAL | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7.4 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 7.4 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
NoneSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/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
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.vulncheck.com/advisories/xenforo-authentication-bypass-via-oauth2-token-end... | [email protected] | www.vulncheck.com | Third Party Advisory |
| xenforo.com/community/threads/security-fixes-released-for-all-xenforo-and... | [email protected] | xenforo.com | Release Notes |
| xenforo.com/community/threads/xenforo-2-3-13-and-add-ons-released-include... | [email protected] | xenforo.com | Release Notes |
| github.com/BomboBombone/CVE-2026-73309 | [email protected] | github.com | Third Party Advisory |
| bombobombone.github.io/posts/cve-2026-73309 | [email protected] | bombobombone.github.io | Exploit, Third Party Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Marco Paciaroni (BomboBombone) (en)
CNA: VulnCheck (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.