CVE-2025-66296: Grav vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in Grav Admin: Missing Username Uniqueness Check Allows Admin Account Takeover

Published Dec 1, 2025
·
Updated

Summary A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Grav’s Admin plugin due to the absence of username uniqueness validation when creating users. A user with the create user permission can create a new account using the same username as an existing administrator account, set a new password/email, and then log in as that administrator. This effectively allows privilege escalation from limited user-manager permissions to full administrator access.

Steps to Reproduce 1. Make sure you have two accounts: an admin and a user with create user privilege 2. In the user account, navigate to /grav-admin/admin/accounts/users and click "Add" 3. Enter the name of the admin, complete registration and observe that the existing admin’s email is changed to the value you provided. 4. Log out from user account log in as admin with new credentials

Impact 1. Full admin takeover by any user with create user permission. 2. Ability to change admin credentials, install/remove plugins, read or modify site data, and execute any action available to an admin. 3. Severity: High/Critical.

PoC https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3ab0a7d6-5055-41be-9e0e-2bd6ca359b37

Other sources

Grav is a file-based Web platform. Prior to 1.8.0-beta.27, a privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Grav’s Admin plugin due to the absence of username uniqueness validation when creating users. A user with the create user permission can create a new account using the same username as an existing administrator account, set a new password/email, and then log in as that administrator. This effectively allows privilege escalation from limited user-manager permissions to full administrator access. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.0-beta.27.

MITRE

Affected Software

29 affected componentsFixes available
Grav Admin plugin<1.8.0-beta.27
composer/getgrav/grav<1.8.0-beta.27
1.8.0-beta.27
getgrav grav>=1.7.49.5<1.8.0
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta1
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta10
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta11
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta12
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta13
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta14
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta15
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta16
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta17
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta18
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta19
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta2
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta20
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta21
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta22
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta23
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta24
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta25
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta26
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta3
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta4
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta5
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta6
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta7
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta8
getgrav grav=1.8.0-beta9

Event History

Dec 1, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·09:03 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·09:03 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·09:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Dec 2, 2025
Advisory Published
via GitHub·12:35 AM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·12:35 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-66296?

CVE-2025-66296 has been classified as a privilege escalation vulnerability.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-66296?

To fix CVE-2025-66296, upgrade the Grav Admin plugin to version 1.8.0-beta.27 or later.

3

What causes CVE-2025-66296?

CVE-2025-66296 is caused by the lack of username uniqueness validation when creating new user accounts in the Grav Admin plugin.

4

Who is affected by CVE-2025-66296?

Users of the Grav Admin plugin prior to version 1.8.0-beta.27 are affected by CVE-2025-66296.

5

What platforms are impacted by CVE-2025-66296?

CVE-2025-66296 impacts the Grav Admin plugin used in the Grav file-based web platform.

Contact

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