# CVE-2026-111910: phpMyFAQ authorization bypass in attachment downloads

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-111910-phpmyfaq-before-4-1-9-and-4-2-0-alpha-before-4-2-0-beta-contains  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-17. Updated: 2026-10-17  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-111910 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-10-17

phpMyFAQ is a knowledge base management system used to organize internal documentation and FAQs with access controls. An authorization bypass in attachment downloads allows low-privileged users or anonymous visitors to retrieve files attached to restricted FAQs, potentially exposing confidential documents like HR policies or incident runbooks. The vulnerability affects versions before 4.1.9 and 4.2.0-beta, and requires either guest downloads to be enabled or a user account with attachment download privileges.

Technologies: [Thorsten phpMyFAQ](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/phpmyfaq). Vendors: [Thorsten](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/thorsten).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-111910 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-111910 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-111910?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 17 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Thorsten phpMyFAQ before 4.1.9 and 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-111910?** Yes: fixed in 4.1.9, 4.2.0-beta. Until then: Disable the records.allowDownloadsForGuests configuration flag and restrict the dlattachment privilege to trusted administrators only, until a version upgrade is possible. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-111910 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-111910?** Check whether you run Thorsten phpMyFAQ at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in 4.1.9, 4.2.0-beta

Disable the records.allowDownloadsForGuests configuration flag and restrict the dlattachment privilege to trusted administrators only, until a version upgrade is possible.

## Technical details

The vulnerability stems from three independent permission-check defects in attachment.php: missing handling of the -1 "all users" sentinel used elsewhere in the codebase, forced-true group permission checks in basic mode, and the allowDownloadsForGuests flag unconditionally bypassing per-record ACLs. An attacker with the dlattachment privilege or anonymous access (when guest downloads enabled) can request attachment IDs to download files from FAQs restricted to specific users, while the viewing path correctly enforces the same restrictions.

## Affected products

- thorsten phpMyFAQ before 4.1.9 and 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta

## Timeline

- 2026-10-17: disclosed
- 2026-10-03: advisory: GitHub security advisory published

## References

- [https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-pp67-9fv9-ph7q](https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-pp67-9fv9-ph7q)
- [https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-before-4.1.9-and-4.2.0-alpha-before-4.2.0-beta-authorization-bypass-via-attachment-php-downloads](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-before-4.1.9-and-4.2.0-alpha-before-4.2.0-beta-authorization-bypass-via-attachment-php-downloads)

## Related threats

- [phpMyFAQ insufficient authorization in group deletion](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-124433-phpmyfaq-before-4-1-11-contains-an-insufficient-authorization)
- [phpMyFAQ WebAuthn account enumeration in prepare-login](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-124432-phpmyfaq-4-1-9-before-4-1-11-and-4-2-0-pre-releases-before-4-2-0)
- [phpMyFAQ missing authorization in deleteUser API](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-111909-phpmyfaq-before-4-1-9-contains-a-missing-authorization)
- [phpMyFAQ broken object-level authorization in FAQ update API](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-111908-phpmyfaq-4-0-0-before-4-1-9-and-4-2-0-alpha-before-4-2-0-beta)
- [phpMyFAQ cross-site request forgery in database update endpoint](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-111907-phpmyfaq-4-0-0-before-4-1-9-contains-a-cross-site-request)