Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain api.users.write key minted on super account
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DeliveryPOST crafted invitation to InvitationsController
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ExploitisSuperAdmin() check passes on owning account
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ExecutionInvitation record retains super-admin flags
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PersistAttacker accepts invitation link via self-registration
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ImpactNew account created with full super-admin access
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 | Exploitation requires possession of a valid API key scoped to api.users.write that was issued from a super admin account on the target Grav installation - not any API key, specifically one minted under a super admin context. The Grav Plugin API plugin must be installed and active (it is not part of Grav core and must be separately enabled), and the API endpoint must be network-accessible to the attacker. The attacker must be able to complete the invitation acceptance step, which can be self-performed by registering with the generated invitation link without requiring any victim interaction. Exploitation is limited by: the requirement for a pre-existing API key tied to a super admin account; the Plugin API being installed and exposed; and any network-layer controls that might block access to the API. There is no requirement for an additional victim to take any action if the attacker self-accepts the invitation. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N with VC:H/VI:H/VA:H) scoring 8.6 accurately captures the attack geometry: network exposure is correct because the API is HTTP-accessible, complexity is low once prerequisites are met, and the full CIA impact triad is justified because a super-admin account has unrestricted control over the CMS. However, the PR:H rating is the most important signal for triage - exploitation requires the attacker to already possess a valid api.users.write API key issued from a super admin account, making this a second-stage or insider-abuse scenario rather than an opportunistic unauthenticated attack. No EPSS score was present in the intelligence data, and the vulnerability is absent from the CISA KEV catalog, so no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation is known; the absence of a public POC further reduces immediate mass-exploitation risk. That said, even a mid-sized municipal IT team in inowroclaw running an internet-exposed Grav API with long-lived or broadly distributed API keys should treat this as urgent, since a leaked or over-issued key is a realistic precondition in many operational environments. The practical risk is high in deployments with poor API key hygiene and low in tightly controlled environments with short-lived keys issued from non-super accounts. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained an api.users.write API key originally minted under a super admin Grav account sends a crafted HTTP POST to the InvitationsController endpoint, constructing an invitation payload that includes super-admin group membership and admin flags. Because isSuperAdmin() evaluates against the owning account rather than the key's declared scope, these flags survive validation; the attacker then accepts the generated invitation link by self-registering, and the resulting account is created with full super-admin privileges. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 14, 2026
Privilege escalation in Grav Plugin API before 1.0.13 allows an attacker controlling a minimal api.users.write API key - issued under a super admin account - to craft invitation records that embed super-admin access flags, which are written verbatim to any account that accepts the invitation. The root cause is CWE-269 improper privilege management: InvitationsController's strip-super and accept-groups decisions evaluate isSuperAdmin() against the owning account rather than against the API key's declared scope, so a deliberately restricted key silently retains the owner's super-admin authority for these checks. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
RemediationAI
Upgrade Grav Plugin API to version 1.0.13 or later, which is the vendor-released patch introducing scope-aware permission evaluation in InvitationsController to replace the bare isSuperAdmin() logic; the vendor advisory is at https://github.com/getgrav/grav/security/advisories/GHSA-wvpj-fg8h-843q. If immediate patching is not feasible, the following compensating controls should be applied in order of effectiveness: disable the Grav Plugin API plugin entirely if REST API access is not operationally required, accepting loss of API-driven automation as a trade-off; restrict network access to the API endpoints at the perimeter or web server layer so that InvitationsController is reachable only from trusted internal hosts; audit all existing API keys and revoke any scoped keys that were minted under super admin accounts, re-issuing them from accounts without super-admin status; and disable the invitation feature in Grav CMS configuration if invitation-based user registration is not in active use. Each compensating control reduces the attack surface but does not remediate the underlying logic flaw - upgrading to 1.0.13 remains the definitive fix.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Grav Plugin API (getgrav/grav-plugin-api) is a REST API extension for the Grav flat-file CMS (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:getgrav:grav:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*). The plugin supports scoped API keys designed to limit operations to declared permission sets such as api.users.write. The flaw - classified as CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) - resides in InvitationsController, where the logic determining whether super-admin flags are stripped from an invitation payload (strip-super) and which groups survive into the record (accept-groups) evaluates isSuperAdmin() on the API key's owning account rather than on the key's own declared scope. Because a super admin may legitimately mint a least-privilege key for a narrow integration, that key erroneously inherits the account's full super-admin status for these authorization checks, allowing the crafted invitation to pass validation with admin flags intact. The privilege escalation completes at invitation acceptance, when the CMS writes those flags verbatim to the newly created user record.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Exploitation requires a valid api.users.write API key minted on a super admin account (PR:H), exercised over the network with low complexity (AV:N/AC:L); scope unchanged as full impact remains within the Grav CMS system.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Grav Plugin API (getgrav/grav-plugin-api) before 1.0.13 fails to enforce API-key scope caps in InvitationsController. The strip-super and accept-groups decisions are gated on a bare isSuperAdmin() check rather than a scope-aware permission check, so a least-privilege API key (scoped to api.users.write) minted on a super account can create an invitation record containing super-admin access flags. When the invitation is accepted, those flags are written verbatim to the new account, resulting in privilege escalation to a fully controlled super account.
Executive ViewAI
Grav Plugin API contains a privilege escalation vulnerability (CVSS 8.6) that allows attackers with restricted API permissions to gain unauthorized super-admin access. While no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, an attacker with a minimal api.users.write key could manipulate invitation records to grant full administrative privileges to any user accepting the invitation. Organizations using Grav Plugin API should audit API key permissions and prepare to upgrade to version 1.0.13.
Apply vendor patch to upgrade to Grav Plugin API version 1.0.13.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
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Remote code execution in Grav CMS before 2.0.13 allows authenticated low-privilege users to plant and execute arbitrary
EUVD-2026-58642
GHSA-g77x-8h46-q78g
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB