Executive brief
Strapi is an open-source content management system used to manage and deliver digital content. A security flaw in how the system handles data filters allows unauthenticated attackers to steal sensitive administrative information, such as password reset tokens. By exploiting this, an attacker can take full control of the administrative account, leading to total data exposure and loss of control over the website or application.
Technical details
A vulnerability exists in Strapi's query parameter sanitization layer when filtering content via relational fields. An unauthenticated attacker can use the `where` query parameter on public Content API endpoints to traverse into the `admin_users` table via relations like `updatedBy`. By using operator chains (e.g., `$startsWith`), the attacker can perform a boolean-oracle attack based on the response count to extract sensitive fields such as `resetPasswordToken`. This allows for the reconstruction of a valid admin reset token and subsequent full account takeover. The issue is resolved in version 5.37.0 by implementing stricter query-parameter sanitization using new primitives that block unauthorized schema traversal.
Affected products
- Strapi Strapi 4.0.0 to 5.36.1
Timeline
- 2026-05-13: advisory: GitHub advisory GHSA-rjg2-95x7-8qmx published
- 2026-05-14: disclosed: CVE-2026-27886 published to NVD
- 2026-05-14: patched: Fixed in version 5.37.0