CVE-2026-42162

Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Artefact Path Manipulation in Mahara

Publication date: 2026-08-17

Last updated on: 2026-08-31

Assigner: MITRE

Description

Mahara before 25.04.5 and 26.04.0 is vulnerable to artefacts being accessible to others under certain circumstances when the file path to an artefact in a page is manipulated.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-17

Last Modified

2026-08-31

Generated

2026-09-07

AI Q&A

2026-08-18

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-06

NVD

CVE-2026-42162

EUVD

EUVD-2026-60546

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
mahara	mahara	to 25.04.5\|end_excluding=26.04.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-22	The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

Mahara before versions 25.04.5 and 26.04.0 has a vulnerability where artefacts on a page can be accessed by unauthorized users if the file path to the artefact is manipulated. This could allow others to view sensitive files that should be restricted.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves artefacts being accessible due to manipulated file paths in Mahara. To detect it, check Mahara's file access logs for unusual requests or unauthorized access patterns. Review page configurations for artefacts with suspicious paths. Ensure your Mahara instance is updated to version 25.04.5 or 26.04.0 or later to mitigate the issue.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability may expose private or confidential files stored in Mahara to unintended users. If you store sensitive data like documents or media, attackers could access them without proper authorization.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to personal or health data, violating GDPR or HIPAA requirements for data protection and access controls. Organizations may face compliance violations and penalties if such breaches occur.

Mitigation Strategies

Update Mahara to version 25.04.5 or later if using 25.x, or to 26.04.0 or later if using 26.x to address the artefact access vulnerability.

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