CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-28219 — Discourse is an open source discussion platform

Medium CVSS 4.3

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0, an improper authorization check in the topic management logic allows authenticated users to modify privileged attributes of their topics. By manipulating specific parameters in a PUT or POST request, a regular user can elevate a topic’s status to a site-wide notice or banner, bypassing intended administrative restrictions. Versions 2025.12.2, 2026.1.1, and 2026.2.0 patch the issue. There are no practical workarounds to prevent this behavior other than applying the security patch. Administrators concerned about unauthorized promotions should audit recent changes to site banners and global notices until the fix is deployed.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.1)
Published
2026-02-26
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-915

Affected products

  • discourse / discourse
  • discourse / discourse / 2026.2.0

Showing 2 representative product identities from 3 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authorization bypass, IDOR, and cross-tenant access

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Map object and action authorization checks across API, UI, batch, import/export, and background-job paths.
  • Identify tenant, ownership, role, and policy boundaries for affected resources and administrative operations.
  • Use synthetic fixtures to compare intended access matrices without accessing another user's real data.

Remediate safely

  • Enforce server-side authorization at each resource access and state transition using the authenticated principal and trusted tenant context.
  • Scope data queries by tenant and ownership; treat client-supplied identifiers, roles, and policy claims as untrusted.
  • Add deny-by-default policy tests for horizontal and vertical access across every affected transport.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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