# CVE-2026-85587: phpMyFAQ incorrect permission checks on admin content pages

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-85587-phpmyfaq-incorrect-permission-checks-on-admin-content-pages  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-04. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-85587 · Severity: info · CVSS 5.3 · Published 2026-09-04

phpMyFAQ is a popular FAQ management system used to create and publish frequently asked questions and news announcements. A permission enforcement bug allows junior content editors (with limited "add" permissions) to view draft and inactive news items and FAQs that should remain hidden from them and the public, resulting in exposure of unpublished announcements and deactivated content.

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-85587 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-85587 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-85587?** Informational severity, with a CVSS score of 5.3, published 4 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** phpMyFAQ phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-85587?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-85587 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-85587?** Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. 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.

## Technical details

This vulnerability stems from incorrect permission-constant mappings in the News and FAQ admin controllers (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization). The GET /admin/news/edit/{id} endpoint checks for NEWS_ADD permission instead of NEWS_EDIT, and GET /admin/faq/translate/{faqId}/{lang} checks for FAQ_ADD instead of the dedicated FAQ_TRANSLATE permission. An attacker with only "add news" or "add FAQ" rights can access these endpoints over the network to retrieve full content of draft/inactive items that return 404 on public paths. The permission guards are fail-closed (terminate on mismatch) but validate the wrong constant. Patches are available in phpMyFAQ 4.1.8 and later.

## Affected products

- phpMyFAQ phpMyFAQ before 4.1.8

## Timeline

- 2026-08-20: disclosed
- 2026-09-04: advisory

## References

- [https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-6w97-49h8-58wh](https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-6w97-49h8-58wh)
- [https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-before-4.1.8-incorrect-authorization-via-admin-pages](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-before-4.1.8-incorrect-authorization-via-admin-pages)