Description
Craft CMS versions 5.0.0-RC1 through 5.10.11 are missing an admin-target guard in UsersController::actionActivateUser (the users/activate-user action). While the action requires the administrateUsers permission, it does not call requireAdmin() when the targeted user is an administrator, unlike the mirror action actionDeactivateUser. As a result, an authenticated control panel user who is not an administrator but holds the administrateUsers permission can activate a pending or deliberately deactivated administrator account, which can lead to permission escalation when combined with resetting that account's password. The issue is fixed in Craft CMS 5.10.12.
Published: 2026-09-08
Score: 7.1 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

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Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Craft CMS versions 5.0.0-RC1 through 5.10.11 are missing an admin-target guard in UsersController::actionActivateUser (the users/activate-user action). While the action requires the administrateUsers permission, it does not call requireAdmin() when the targeted user is an administrator, unlike the mirror action actionDeactivateUser. As a result, an authenticated control panel user who is not an administrator but holds the administrateUsers permission can activate a pending or deliberately deactivated administrator account, which can lead to permission escalation when combined with resetting that account's password. The issue is fixed in Craft CMS 5.10.12.
Title Craft CMS 5.0.0-RC1 before 5.10.12 Permission Escalation via UsersController
First Time appeared Craftcms
Craftcms craft Cms
Weaknesses CWE-862
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:craftcms:craft_cms:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Craftcms
Craftcms craft Cms
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


Subscriptions

Craftcms Craft Cms
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-08T15:14:01.558Z

Reserved: 2026-09-08T11:31:09.013Z

Link: CVE-2026-86731

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-08T16:18:35.187

Modified: 2026-09-08T16:18:35.187

Link: CVE-2026-86731

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses