Description
Kirby is an open-source content management system. In versions 5.3.0 and above but prior to 5.4.1, Kirby did not correctly validate the provided user ID, resulting in a path traversal vulnerability. Version 5.3.0 introduced a performance improvement to the Users collection that loaded user objects lazily when first needed. Users were queried by their ID, which was then used to locate the corresponding account directory under site/accounts. This affected the authentication API (accessible to unauthenticated requests), the users API (accessible only to authenticated users), and any other place that uses $users->find() to look up an individual user by a request-provided email or ID. As a result, an attacker could trigger arbitrary PHP file inclusion of files named  index.php (for example, the main PHP files of plugins), the impact of which depends on the logic those files contain. It also allowed probing for the existence of arbitrary directories on the server, letting attackers fingerprint the server and site setup, including installed plugins and the content structure. This issue has been fixed in version 5.4.1.
Published: 2026-07-16
Score: 8.8 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

No analysis available yet.

Remediation

No remediation available yet.

Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-9hx7-c53c-v6x8 Kirby CMS has pre-authentication path traversal and PHP file inclusion during user lookup
History

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Getkirby
Getkirby kirby
Vendors & Products Getkirby
Getkirby kirby

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Kirby is an open-source content management system. In versions 5.3.0 and above but prior to 5.4.1, Kirby did not correctly validate the provided user ID, resulting in a path traversal vulnerability. Version 5.3.0 introduced a performance improvement to the Users collection that loaded user objects lazily when first needed. Users were queried by their ID, which was then used to locate the corresponding account directory under site/accounts. This affected the authentication API (accessible to unauthenticated requests), the users API (accessible only to authenticated users), and any other place that uses $users->find() to look up an individual user by a request-provided email or ID. As a result, an attacker could trigger arbitrary PHP file inclusion of files named  index.php (for example, the main PHP files of plugins), the impact of which depends on the logic those files contain. It also allowed probing for the existence of arbitrary directories on the server, letting attackers fingerprint the server and site setup, including installed plugins and the content structure. This issue has been fixed in version 5.4.1.
Title Kirby: Pre-authentication path traversal and PHP file inclusion during user lookup
Weaknesses CWE-22
CWE-98
References
Metrics cvssV4_0

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-07-16T21:19:16.783Z

Reserved: 2026-05-05T14:39:34.924Z

Link: CVE-2026-44177

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-07-16T22:30:06Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-22

    Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

  • CWE-98

    Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')