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Discourse Subscriptions EUVDEUVD-2026-30969

| CVE-2026-34154 LOW
Missing Authorization (CWE-862)
2026-05-19 GitHub_M
2.1
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: GitHub_M
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Identify Discourse instance with subscriptions plugin
  2. Delivery
    Initiate subscription enrollment for paid group
  3. Exploit
    Manipulate payment confirmation request
  4. Execution
    Bypass server-side payment authorization check
  5. Impact
    Gain unauthorized subscription group membership

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request
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

Exploitation requires that the target Discourse instance has the discourse-subscriptions plugin installed and has at least one group configured as subscription-gated (paid membership). The CVSS AT:P (Attack Requirements: Present) explicitly encodes this precondition. Active user interaction is required (UI:A), meaning the attacker must themselves engage with the subscription flow - this cannot be triggered passively or against another user. High attack complexity (AC:H) further limits exploitation to actors who understand the plugin's internal payment authorization sequence. Exploitation is bounded to gaining unauthorized group membership; there is no code execution, no privilege escalation, and no impact on other users or the underlying host system.

Impact

The CVSS 4.0 base score of 2.1 accurately reflects the constrained real-world risk of this finding. The vector AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A signals network reachability but demands high attack complexity, a specific deployment precondition (AT:P - subscriptions plugin with paid groups), and active user interaction (UI:A), all of which substantially narrow the exploitable population. Impact is limited to low confidentiality on the vulnerable system (VC:L) with no integrity or availability effects and no subsequent system impact. No EPSS score was provided in the intelligence data, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified. Despite the 'Authentication Bypass' tag, the CVSS PR:N indicates the actor does not need pre-existing credentials - however, the UI:A and AC:H requirements mean exploitation is neither trivial nor fully automated. In practical terms, this is a low-priority business-logic flaw affecting monetization integrity rather than system security.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker navigates the Discourse subscription enrollment flow and manipulates the client-side or in-flight request sequence to signal payment completion without actually processing a transaction. The missing server-side authorization check (CWE-862) then grants the attacker membership in the subscription-gated group, giving them access to restricted content or features without paying. No public proof-of-concept has been identified at time of analysis, but the business-logic nature of the flaw means exploitation likely requires understanding of the plugin's payment flow rather than a memory corruption or injection primitive.

Monitor Track and reassess. Why: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – May 19, 2026

Payment bypass in the discourse-subscriptions plugin allows unauthenticated users to gain membership in subscription-gated groups without completing a financial transaction. Affected are all Discourse installations running the subscriptions plugin prior to fixed versions 2026.1.4, 2026.3.1, 2026.4.1, and 2026.5.0-latest.1. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and the CVSS 4.0 score of 2.1 reflects high attack complexity, required user interaction, and limited confidentiality impact confined to the vulnerable system.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: 2026.1.4, 2026.3.1, 2026.4.1, and 2026.5.0-latest.1. Administrators should upgrade Discourse and the discourse-subscriptions plugin to the appropriate fixed release for their track as documented in the GitHub Security Advisory at https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-pjgj-7mjq-6j7g. If immediate upgrade is not possible, a compensating control is to disable or deactivate the discourse-subscriptions plugin until patching can occur - this eliminates the attack surface entirely but also removes subscription functionality for legitimate users. Alternatively, administrators can manually audit group memberships for users who did not complete payment and revoke unauthorized access. No other specific workarounds are documented in the available advisory data.

Affected VersionsENISA

discourse 2026.3.0-latest, < 2026.3.1
discourse 2026.4.0-latest, < 2026.4.1
discourse < 2026.1.4
discourse 2026.5.0-latest, < 2026.5.0-latest.1

Affected Packages

euvd discourse fix: 2026.1.4
euvd discourse_2026_3_0_latest fix: 2026.3.1
euvd discourse_2026_4_0_latest fix: 2026.4.1
euvd discourse_2026_5_0_latest fix: 2026.5.0-latest.1

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 4 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

Discourse is an open-source Ruby on Rails-based discussion platform. The discourse-subscriptions plugin extends Discourse with payment-gated group membership, typically backed by a payment processor. CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) identifies the root cause: the plugin fails to enforce a server-side check confirming payment completion before granting group access, allowing the authorization gate to be bypassed. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:discourse:discourse:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* spans all Discourse versions, but exploitation is scoped to instances with the subscriptions plugin installed and subscription-gated groups configured. The CVSS 4.0 vector designates AT:P (attack requirements present), confirming that a specific deployment precondition - the subscriptions plugin with paid groups - must be in place.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (GitHub_M) PRIMARY 2.1 LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Active
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
May 19, 2026 - 20:02 EUVD
CVSS changed
May 19, 2026 - 19:22 NVD
2.1 (LOW)

DescriptionCVE.org

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. In versions prior to 2026.1.4, 2026.3.1, 2026.4.1 and 2026.5.0-latest.1, a vulnerability in the discourse-subscriptions plugin allows users to gain access to subscription-gated groups without completing payment. This issue has been fixed in versions 2026.1.4, 2026.3.1, 2026.4.1 and 2026.5.0-latest.1.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 88% exploitable
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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 LOW
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9)
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
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Low
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

10
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +10
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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7.5 Jan 14

In Discourse 2.7.0 through beta1, a rate-limit bypass leads to a bypass of the 2FA requirement for certain forms. Rated

CVE-2026-26077 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Feb 26

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CVE-2023-38706 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Sep 15

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CVE-2024-53991 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Dec 19

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CVE-2025-48877 CRITICAL
9.8 Jun 09

Discourse versions prior to 3.4.4 (stable), 3.5.0.beta5 (beta), and 3.5.0.beta6-dev (tests-passed) contain a critical vu

CVE-2023-47121 CRITICAL
9.8 Nov 10

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CVE-2022-39355 CRITICAL
9.8 Oct 26

Discourse Patreon enables syncronization between Discourse Groups and Patreon rewards. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8

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