Administrator takeover via duplicate username overwrite
Published Dec 1, 2025 · Updated Dec 2, 2025
Privilege escalation in Grav before 1.8.0-beta.27 allows remote authenticated users with user-creation rights to take over an administrator account. UserObject::save derives a filesystem storage key from a new account's username and, before the fix, writes the account without checking whether that key already exists. User-creation permission is sufficient to replace an existing administrator's email and password, after which full administrative access is available.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Grav before 1.8.0-beta.27 allows remote authenticated users with user-creation rights to take over an administrator account. UserObject::save derives a filesystem storage key from a new account's username and, before the fix, writes the account without checking whether that key already exists. User-creation permission is sufficient to replace an existing administrator's email and password, after which full administrative access is available.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-66296
- Published
- Dec 1, 2025
- Updated
- Dec 2, 2025
- Vendor
- GetGrav
- Product
- Grav
- Classifications
- CWE-266, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Dec 2, 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.8.0-beta.27
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
- Privilege_Escalation_PoC.mp4proof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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