CVE-2026-28781: Craft Affected by Entries Authorship Spoofing via Mass Assignment
Description The entry creation process allows for Mass Assignment of the authorId attribute. A user with "Create Entries" permission can inject the authorIds[] (or authorId) parameter into the POST request, which the backend processes without verifying if the current user is authorized to assign authorship to others.
Normally, this field is not present in the request for users without the necessary permissions. By manually adding this parameter, an attacker can attribute the new entry to any user, including Admins. This effectively "spoofs" the authorship.
Proof of Concept Prerequisites - A user account with "Create Entries" permission for a section. - Victim's account ID (e.g., 1 for the default Admin).
Steps to Reproduce 1. Log in as the attacker 1. Navigate to the "Entries" section and click "New Entry" 1. Fill in the required fields 1. Enable a proxy tool (e.g., Burp Suite) to intercept requests 1. Click "Save" & Intercept the request 1. In the request body, add a new parameter to the body params: &authorIds[]=<VictimID> 1. Forward the request 1. Log in as an admin / as with the victim account 1. Go to entries & Observe the newly created entry is listed and the author is the victim account, not the actual creator
Impact - A user can create entries that appear to belong to higher-privileged users, potentially bypassing review processes or gaining trust based on false authorship. - An attacker could post malicious or inappropriate content attributed to an administrator or other trusted users.
Resources
https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/c6dcbdffaf6ab3ffe77d317336684d83699f4542 https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/830b403870cd784b47ae42a3f5a16e7ac2d7f5a8
Other sources
Craft is a content management system (CMS). Prior to 4.17.0-beta.1 and 5.9.0-beta.1, the entry creation process allows for Mass Assignment of the authorId attribute. A user with "Create Entries" permission can inject the authorIds[] (or authorId) parameter into the POST request, which the backend processes without verifying if the current user is authorized to assign authorship to others. Normally, this field is not present in the request for users without the necessary permissions. By manually adding this parameter, an attacker can attribute the new entry to any user, including Admins. This effectively "spoofs" the authorship. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.17.0-beta.1 and 5.9.0-beta.1.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-28781?
CVE-2026-28781 has a moderate severity level due to the potential for authorship spoofing through mass assignment of the authorId attribute.
How do I fix CVE-2026-28781?
To fix CVE-2026-28781, upgrade to Craft CMS version 4.17.0-beta.1 or 5.9.0-beta.1 or later.
What software is affected by CVE-2026-28781?
CVE-2026-28781 affects Craft CMS versions prior to 4.17.0 and 5.9.0.
What is the nature of the vulnerability in CVE-2026-28781?
CVE-2026-28781 is a mass assignment vulnerability that allows unauthorized users to inject author IDs during entry creation.
Who is impacted by CVE-2026-28781?
Users with 'Create Entries' permission in Craft CMS are impacted by CVE-2026-28781, as they can exploit the mass assignment feature.