CVE-2026-29072
Received Received - Intake
Unauthorized Policy Widget Creation in Discourse via Permission Bypass

Publication date: 2026-03-19

Last updated on: 2026-03-23

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2, users who do not belong to the allowed policy creation groups can create functional policy acceptance widgets in posts under the right conditions. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch. As a workaround, disable the discourse-policy plugin by disabling the `policy_enabled` site setting.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-03-19
Last Modified
2026-03-23
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-03-20
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-14
NVD
CVE-2026-29072
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
discourse discourse From 2026.1.0 (inc) to 2026.1.2 (exc)
discourse discourse From 2026.2.0 (inc) to 2026.2.1 (exc)
discourse discourse 2026.3.0
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-862 The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability affects the Discourse open-source discussion platform. Before certain fixed versions (2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2), users who were not part of the allowed policy creation groups could still create functional policy acceptance widgets in posts if certain conditions were met. This means unauthorized users could manipulate or create policy acceptance elements within the platform.

The issue is addressed in the specified patched versions, and as a temporary workaround, administrators can disable the discourse-policy plugin by turning off the `policy_enabled` site setting.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could allow unauthorized users to create policy acceptance widgets, potentially misleading other users or bypassing intended policy controls within the Discourse platform.

Such unauthorized creation of policy acceptance elements might lead to incorrect acceptance of policies or terms, which could undermine the integrity of policy enforcement and user consent mechanisms.

Compliance Impact

I don't know

Detection Guidance

I don't know

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability immediately, you should disable the discourse-policy plugin by disabling the `policy_enabled` site setting.

Alternatively, upgrade your Discourse installation to one of the patched versions: 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, or 2026.1.2.

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