CVE-2026-48946
Received Received - Intake
K2 Arbitrary PHP Code Execution via Malicious File Upload

Publication date: 2026-06-25

Last updated on: 2026-06-25

Assigner: Joomla! Project

Description
The K2 frontend article-attachment upload path accepts files whose extension is `.php`, and Apache's standard mod_php matches `\.php$` and executes them under the K2 web user. A K2 Author can upload a `shell.php`, then fetch `/media/k2/attachments/shell.php` and execute arbitrary PHP code in the web server's context.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-06-25
Last Modified
2026-06-25
Generated
2026-06-25
AI Q&A
2026-06-25
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-48946
EUVD
EUVD-2026-39442
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
joomla k2 *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-434 The product allows the upload or transfer of dangerous file types that are automatically processed within its environment.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the K2 frontend article-attachment upload path, which allows files with a .php extension to be uploaded.

Because Apache's mod_php module executes files ending with .php, an attacker with K2 Author privileges can upload a file named shell.php.

Once uploaded, the attacker can access and execute this shell.php file on the web server, running arbitrary PHP code with the web server's permissions.

Impact Analysis

An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can execute arbitrary PHP code on the web server.

This can lead to unauthorized access, data theft, server compromise, or further attacks within the affected environment.

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