CVE-2026-57996: Privilege Escalation (CVSS 8.8)

Description

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2026-57996?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

8.8

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0025

Probability of exploitation

0.16%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-269 CWE-269

References

Other References

https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9 https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-privilege-escalation-via-missing-superadmin-guard-in-user-add-endpoint https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-57996? +

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-57996? +

CVE-2026-57996 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0025, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-57996? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-9490

A security vulnerability has been identified in Acer Care Center where the ACCSvc service creates a Named Pipe with a …

CVE-2026-9489

NitroSense 3.x before 3.01.3052 contains Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability.The program exposes a Windows Named Pipe that uses a custom …

CVE-2026-8069

PredatorSense version 3.00.3136 to 3.00.3196 contain Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability.The program exposes a Windows Named Pipe that uses a …

CVE-2026-0276

A privilege escalation vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex® XDR Broker VM enables a locally authenticated user to perform actions …

CVE-2025-1424

A privilege escalation vulnerability in PocketBook InkPad Color 3 allows attackers to escalate to root privileges if they gain physical …

CVE-2025-1425

A Sudo privilege misconfiguration vulnerability in PocketBook InkPad Color 3 on Linux, ARM allows attackers to read file contents on …

CVE-2026-57996