Discourse: >> Discourse Security Vulnerabilities
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, missing `validate_before_create` authorization in Data Explorer's `QueryGroupBookmarkable` allows any logged-in user to create bookmarks for query groups they don't have access to, enabling metadata disclosure via bookmark reminder notifications. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 fix this issue and also make sure `validate_before_create` throws NotImplementedError in BaseBookmarkable if not implemented, to prevent similar issues in the future. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
3.8
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, the `move_posts` action only checked `can_move_posts?` on the source topic but never validated write permissions on the destination topic. This allowed TL4 users and category group moderators to move posts into topics in categories where they lack posting privileges (e.g., read-only categories or categories with group-restricted write access). Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
2.7
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, DM communication-preference bypass when adding members via `Chat::AddUsersToChannel` — a user could add targets who have blocked/ignored/muted them to an existing DM channel, bypassing per-recipient PM restrictions that are enforced during DM channel creation. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
3.8
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, `posts_nearby` was checking topic access but then returning all posts regardless of type, including whispers that should only be visible to whisperers. Use `Post.secured(guardian)` to properly filter post types based on user permissions. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
4.9
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, the voters endpoint in the poll plugin lacked post visibility checks which allowed unauthorized access to voters details of polls in any post. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Versions prior to 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 have an IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference) in `ReviewableNotesController`. When `enable_category_group_moderation` is enabled, a user belonging to a category moderation group can create or delete their own notes on **any** reviewable in the system, including reviewables in categories they do not moderate. The controller used an unscoped `Reviewable.find` and the `ensure_can_see` guard only checked whether the user could access the review queue in general, not whether they could access the specific reviewable. Only instances with `enable_category_group_moderation` enabled are affected. Staff users (admins/moderators) are not impacted as they already have access to all reviewables. The issue is patched in versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 by scoping the reviewable lookup through `Reviewable.viewable_by(current_user)`. As a workaround, disable the `enable_category_group_moderation` site setting. This removes the attack surface as only staff users will have access to the review queue.
CVSS Score
4.3
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, TL4 users are able to close, archive and pin topics in private categories they don't have access to. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. No known workarounds are available.
CVSS Score
2.7
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, `discourse-policy` plugin allows any authenticated user to interact with policies on posts they do not have permission to view. The `PolicyController` loads posts by ID without verifying the current user's access, enabling policy group members to accept/unaccept policies on posts in private categories or PMs they cannot see and any authenticated user to enumerate which post IDs have policies attached via differentiated error responses (information disclosure). The issue is patched in versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 by adding a `guardian.can_see?(@post)` check in the `set_post` before_action, ensuring post visibility is verified before any policy action is processed. As a workaround, disabling the discourse-policy plugin (`policy_enabled = false`) eliminates the vulnerability. There is no other workaround without upgrading.
CVSS Score
5.4
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, an IDOR vulnerability in the directory items endpoint allows any user, including anonymous users, to retrieve private user field values for all users in the directory. The `user_field_ids` parameter in `DirectoryItemsController#index` accepts arbitrary user field IDs without authorization checks, bypassing the visibility restrictions (`show_on_profile` / `show_on_user_card`) that are enforced elsewhere (e.g., `UserCardSerializer` via `Guardian#allowed_user_field_ids`). An attacker can request `GET /directory_items.json?period=all&user_field_ids=<id>` with any private field ID and receive that field's value for every user in the directory response. This enables bulk exfiltration of private user data such as phone numbers, addresses, or other sensitive custom fields that admins have explicitly configured as non-public. The issue is patched in versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 by filtering `user_field_ids` against `UserField.public_fields` for non-staff users before building the custom field map. As a workaround, site administrators can remove sensitive data from private user fields, or disable the user directory via the `enable_user_directory` site setting.
CVSS Score
7.5
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26
Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, when the `patreon_webhook_secret` site setting is blank, an attacker can forge valid webhook signatures by computing an HMAC-MD5 with an empty string as the key. Since the request body is known to the sender, the attacker can produce a matching signature and send arbitrary webhook payloads. This allows unauthorized creation, modification, or deletion of Patreon pledge data and triggering patron-to-group synchronization. This vulnerability is patched in versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0. The fix rejects webhook requests when the webhook secret is not configured, preventing signature forgery with an empty key. As a workaround, configure the `patreon_webhook_secret` site setting with a strong, non-empty secret value. When the secret is non-empty, an attacker cannot forge valid signatures without knowing the secret.
CVSS Score
7.5
EPSS Score
0.0
Published
2026-02-26