CVE-2026-72914: Mastodon: Exhausting data by an unauthenticated request to the admin retention API
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to 4.4.21, 4.5.14, 4.6.4, and 4.7.0-beta.1, the administrative statistics endpoints handled by Api::V1::Admin::MeasuresController and Api::V1::Admin::RetentionController checked authorization only after beginning expensive calculations. Anonymous callers could submit keys, startat, and endat parameters that caused long-running SQL queries in Admin::Metrics::Measure, Admin::Metrics::Retention, and Admin::Metrics::Dimension::BaseDimension, allowing repeated requests to exhaust server resources. This issue is fixed in versions 4.4.21, 4.5.14, 4.6.4, and 4.7.0-beta.1.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Mastodonto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.4.21 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Mastodonto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.5.14 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Mastodonto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.6.4 - Upgrade
Upgrade
Mastodonto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.7.0-beta.1
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-72914?
CVE-2026-72914 has a severity rating of high with a score of 7.5.
What are the risks associated with CVE-2026-72914?
CVE-2026-72914 allows unauthenticated users to exhaust server resources through requests to the admin retention API.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72914?
To fix CVE-2026-72914, upgrade to Mastodon versions 4.4.21, 4.5.14, 4.6.4, or 4.7.0-beta.1 or later.
Who is affected by CVE-2026-72914?
Users of Mastodon versions prior to 4.4.21, 4.5.14, 4.6.4, and 4.7.0-beta.1 are affected by CVE-2026-72914.
What impact does CVE-2026-72914 have on users?
CVE-2026-72914 can lead to service disruptions for Mastodon users due to resource exhaustion caused by unauthenticated requests.