Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as low-privilege staff user
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DeliveryQuery Admin API for pending invites
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ExploitRead leaked secret invite token
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ExecutionAccept higher-privileged invite
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ImpactGain escalated admin role
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Timing-safe comparisons
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an authenticated Ghost staff account that holds the invite-viewing permission (per CVSS PR:L), and it is only possible when a pending staff invite for a higher-privileged role (e.g. Administrator) currently exists - the attacker reads that invite's secret token via the Admin API and accepts the invite to bind the elevated role to their own account. Limiting factors: no anonymous/unauthenticated path (a valid low-privilege staff login is prerequisite), the attack is gated on a pending higher-role invite being outstanding (reflected as AT:P/AC:H), and it affects only Ghost 4.39.0 up to but not including 6.64.0; upgrading to 6.64.0 or later removes the exposure. |
| Impact | This is a privilege-escalation issue in the Ghost Admin API (CWE-203, information exposure through observable discrepancy) that carries a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.7 (High). The vendor vector CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N shows that although the API is network-reachable, exploitation is NOT trivial: it requires existing low-privilege authentication (PR:L - a staff account with invite-viewing permission), elevated attack complexity (AC:H), and a specific attack requirement (AT:P), namely that pending higher-privileged invites actually exist to be hijacked. Impact is rated high across confidentiality, integrity, and availability (VC:H/VI:H/VA:H) because accepting a higher-role invite yields escalated (potentially administrator) control. No EPSS score, SSVC decision, KEV listing, or POC reference was provided in the input, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. Net assessment: a credible insider/compromised-account escalation path worth prompt patching for Ghost operators with multiple staff users, but not a mass-exploitation, unauthenticated internet threat - the PR:L requirement plus the dependency on pending invites meaningfully constrains real-world risk despite the High rating. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged Ghost staff user (or an attacker who has phished/compromised such an account) queries the Admin API and reads the secret invite token for a pending invitation that was issued for a higher-privileged role such as Administrator. The attacker then uses that leaked token to accept the invite themselves, binding the elevated role to their own account and gaining administrative control of the publication. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, and exploitation depends on a pending higher-role invite existing at the time of attack. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 02, 2026
Privilege escalation in Ghost 4.39.0 before 6.64.0 allows an authenticated staff user who has invite-viewing permission to read the secret token of a pending higher-privileged staff invite through the Admin API and then accept that invite to bind the elevated role to their own account. The issue is rated CVSS 4.0 base 7.7 High and is gated on a pending invite for a higher role being outstanding; no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Affected deployments should upgrade to Ghost 6.64.0 or later, as the vendor has released a patch.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Ghost 6.64.0; upgrade to 6.64.0 or later to remove the exposure. If immediate upgrade is not possible, apply compensating controls that address the prerequisite and permission path: restrict the invite-viewing permission so only trusted administrators can list or inspect pending staff invites, and audit or expire pending invites for higher-privileged roles so no exploitable token is outstanding; trade-offs are that tighter invite permissions can disrupt staff onboarding workflows, and expiring pending invites can invalidate legitimate invitations. Monitor Admin API activity for staff accounts querying invite details or accepting invites outside normal onboarding, and review GHSA-v6q3-xqxm-6f5v and the VulnCheck advisory for vendor updates. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the privilege-escalation path should be treated as high risk once a higher-role invite is pending.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in npm
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The affected component is the Ghost Admin API, and the root cause is CWE-203, information exposure through observable discrepancy: the API exposes secret tokens for pending staff invites to staff users who should only be able to view invite metadata, rather than restricting token visibility to higher-privileged administrators. With a valid low-privilege staff login (CVSS PR:L) and invite-viewing permission, an attacker can retrieve the invite token and complete acceptance of a pending Administrator or other higher-role invite, escalating privileges. The CVSS 4.0 vector AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N and independent CVSS 3.1 assessment AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H both reflect that the attack is authenticated, remote, and constrained by attack requirements, specifically the presence of a pending higher-privileged invite. CPE data identifies cpe:2.3:a:tryghost:ghost:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and EUVD lists Ghost 4.39.0 <6.64.0 as affected. No CISA KEV entry or public exploit code is reported.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Network Admin API but requires a logged-in low-priv staff account (PR:L) and a pre-existing pending invite (AC:H); accepting an admin invite yields full C/I/A control of the publication.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Ghost from 4.39.0 before 6.64.0 contains an information disclosure vulnerability in the Admin API that allows staff users to view secret tokens of pending staff invites. Staff users with invite viewing permission can accept pending invites for higher-privileged roles to escalate their privileges.
Technical POC Analysis
Evidence base: the GHSA-v6q3-xqxm-6f5v advisory text only.
Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.
Executive ViewAI
A privilege-escalation flaw in the Ghost publishing platform (versions 4.39.0 through 6.63.x) allows a staff-level account with invite-viewing rights to read the secret token of an outstanding invitation meant for a higher-privileged staff member and then redeem that invitation against its own account, effectively granting itself an elevated role. Organizations running self-hosted or managed Ghost instances are exposed whenever an elevated-role invite is pending, since a successful escalation can lead to administrator-level control of the site, its content, members, and connected integrations. Leadership should care because the vendor has shipped a fix, making this a straightforward, time-bound remediation decision rather than an open research problem - but only if affected instances are identified and upgraded promptly.
Apply vendor patch (Ghost 6.64.0 or later). Interim measures if immediate upgrade is not feasible: cancel or expire all pending higher-privilege staff invites, restrict invite-viewing permissions to the smallest possible set of trusted staff, and monitor Admin API logs for unexpected invite acceptance or role elevation.
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
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-91427
GHSA-8gr3-r7fg-c83w
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB