What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-42162?

CVE-2026-42162 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.1%.

Which versions of Mahara are affected by CVE-2026-42162?

Mahara ePortfolio deployments contain a path traversal vulnerability (CVSS 9.1) allowing unauthorized access to other users' private files and content, undermining the platform's access control…

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-42162?

Within 24 hours, identify and audit all Mahara instances currently in operation, noting their version numbers and deployment scope. Within 7 days, upgrade Mahara to version 25.04.5 (for 25.x deployments) or 26.04.0 (for 26.x deployments), completing testing in non-production environments before each production update. Within 30 days, review access logs from the past 90 days for evidence of path traversal exploitation, document any suspicious file access patterns, and notify affected users of any confirmed unauthorized access.

Mahara CVE-2026-42162

EUVD-2026-60546 CRITICAL

Path Traversal (CWE-22)

2026-08-17 mitre

GHSA-wj88-f77v-46px

Path Traversal N A

9.1

CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: mitre

Severity by source

Vendor (mitre) PRIMARY

9.1 CRITICAL

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

vuln.today AI

5.3 MEDIUM

Description is disclosure-only so I:N/A:N with C:H; 'certain circumstances' implies AC:H, and typical login-gated Mahara access plus needing a page/artefact context implies PR:L.

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

4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (mitre).

CVSS VectorVendor: mitre

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

None

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Generated

Aug 18, 2026 - 13:25 vuln.today

CVSS changed

Aug 18, 2026 - 13:22 NVD

9.1 (CRITICAL)

CVE Published

Aug 17, 2026 - 00:00 cve.org

CRITICAL 9.1

CVE Published

Aug 17, 2026 - 00:00 cve.org

UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

Mahara before 25.04.5 and 26.04.0 is vulnerable to artefacts being accessible to others under certain circumstances when the file path to an artefact in a page is manipulated.

AnalysisAI

Improper access control via path traversal in Mahara's ePortfolio system allows others to reach artefacts (uploaded files/content) they should not see when the file path to an artefact embedded in a page is manipulated. It affects Mahara releases before 25.04.5 and before 26.04.0 and is fixed in those versions. …

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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata

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Vulnerability AssessmentAI

Exploitation	Exploitation requires a Mahara page that references an artefact by file path, which the attacker then manipulates to point at an artefact they should not have access to; the vendor explicitly scopes this to 'certain circumstances,' meaning it is not a universal all-artefacts disclosure but depends on how a given artefact is referenced within a page. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment.
Risk Assessment	The supplied CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N, score 9.1) rates this as Critical, but the signals do not fully agree with the description. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in.
Exploit Scenario	Full exploit scenario with step-by-step reproduction available after sign-in.
Remediation	Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Mahara 25.04.5 or 26.04.0 (or later), the fixed versions named in the advisory at https://mahara.org/interaction/forum/topic.php?id=10057. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report.