CVE-2024-24748Network attack vector

Secret subcategory disclosure via unfiltered child-state flag

Published Mar 15, 2024 · Updated Aug 27, 2024

Improper authorization in Discourse stable 3.2.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to discover the existence of secret subcategories. CategoryList#find_categories sets each public category's has_children flag from the unfiltered subcategory association instead of children visible to the requester. Exploitation requires a public parent with no visible public children but at least one secret child; affected beta and tests-passed builds extend through 3.3.0.beta1.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.46%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authorization in Discourse stable 3.2.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to discover the existence of secret subcategories. CategoryList#find_categories sets each public category's has_children flag from the unfiltered subcategory association instead of children visible to the requester. Exploitation requires a public parent with no visible public children but at least one secret child; affected beta and tests-passed builds extend through 3.3.0.beta1.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-24748
Published
Mar 15, 2024
Updated
Aug 27, 2024
Vendor
Discourse
Product
Discourse
Classifications
CWE-285
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 15, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 27, 2024Record 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=beta <= 3.3.0.beta1
  2. Affected versionversion=beta <=3.3.0.beta1
  3. Affected versionversion=stable <= 3.2.0
  4. Affected versionversion=stable <=3.2.0
  5. Affected versionversion=tests-passed <= 3.3.0.beta1
  6. Affected versionversion=tests-passed <=3.3.0.beta1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Discourse · Discourseversion=beta <= 3.3.0.beta1; version=beta <=3.3.0.beta1; version=stable <= 3.2.0; version=stable <=3.2.0; version=tests-passed <= 3.3.0.beta1; version=tests-passed <=3.3.0.beta1

Published CVSS scores

5.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-285Improper Authorization

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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