Authenticated superuser escalation via exposed session tokens
Published Aug 28, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026
Privilege escalation in Piccolo Admin before 1.14.0 allows remote authenticated users to gain superuser access through an exposed session token. The superuser_validators function denies writes by non-superusers but permits GET on configured session tables, while SessionsBase.token is returned as a non-secret field. Exploitation requires non-superuser admin credentials and a deployment exposing Sessions and User through create_admin; token replay permits persistent self-promotion.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Piccolo Admin before 1.14.0 allows remote authenticated users to gain superuser access through an exposed session token. The superuser_validators function denies writes by non-superusers but permits GET on configured session tables, while SessionsBase.token is returned as a non-secret field. Exploitation requires non-superuser admin credentials and a deployment exposing Sessions and User through create_admin; token replay permits persistent self-promotion.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-55485
- Published
- Aug 28, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- Vendor
- Piccolo
- Product
- Piccolo Admin
- Classifications
- CWE-200, CWE-863, CWE-269, T1539, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 28, 2026Record 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=< 1.14.0
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA-2gh4-jmwq-rr8w reproduction procedureproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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