CVE-2022-21678Network attack vector

Private bio disclosure via incomplete profile authorization

Published Jan 13, 2022 · Updated Apr 23, 2025

Information disclosure in Discourse before 2.7.13 or 2.8.0.beta11 allows remote authenticated users to read private profile bios. Guardian#restrict_user_fields? restricts only anonymous access to trust-level-zero accounts and fails to consult can_see_profile?, so page rendering includes hidden bios in HTML meta tags. A low-privileged account and the username of a member who enabled profile hiding are sufficient; exposure is limited to that member's bio.

CVSS severity4.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.79%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Discourse before 2.7.13 or 2.8.0.beta11 allows remote authenticated users to read private profile bios. Guardian#restrict_user_fields? restricts only anonymous access to trust-level-zero accounts and fails to consult can_see_profile?, so page rendering includes hidden bios in HTML meta tags. A low-privileged account and the username of a member who enabled profile hiding are sufficient; exposure is limited to that member's bio.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-21678
Published
Jan 13, 2022
Updated
Apr 23, 2025
Vendor
Discourse
Product
Discourse
Classifications
CWE-863, CWE-200
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 13, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.7.13
  2. Affected versionversion=< 2.8.0.beta11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Discourse · Discourseversion=< 2.7.13; version=< 2.8.0.beta11

Published CVSS scores

4.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
4.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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