CVE-2026-61838
Received Received - Intake

Lychee Photo Manager ZIP Archive Download Vulnerability

Publication date: 2026-10-15

Last updated on: 2026-10-15

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
Lychee is a free, open-source photo-management tool. Prior to 7.6.3, GET /api/v2/Zip authorizes album and photo archives through AlbumPolicy::canDownload() and PhotoPolicy::canDownload() without first enforcing AlbumPolicy::canAccess(). For a public, password-protected album with grants_download enabled, an unauthenticated attacker who knows the shared album identifier can download a ZIP archive without supplying the password or unlocking the album, even though browsing endpoints deny access. The archive exposes the album's photos and can include full-resolution originals and associated metadata when grants_full_photo_access is enabled. This issue is fixed in version 7.6.3.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-15
Last Modified
2026-10-15
Generated
2026-10-15
AI Q&A
2026-10-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-61838
EUVD
EUVD-2026-102191

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
LycheeOrg Lychee < 7.6.3

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-639 The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.
CWE-285 The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in Lychee allows an unauthenticated attacker to download ZIP archives of password-protected albums without knowing the password. The issue occurs because the download endpoint bypasses password checks while browsing endpoints enforce them. The attacker only needs the album's public identifier to exploit this.

Detection Guidance

Check Lychee version with: curl -s https://your-lychee-instance.com/api/version | grep version. If version <= 7.6.2, the system is vulnerable. Test for the exploit by attempting to download a ZIP archive from a password-protected album via /api/v2/Zip without authentication.

Impact Analysis

If you use Lychee with password-protected albums that allow downloads, attackers could access your photos and metadata without the password. This includes full-resolution originals if the album has full photo access enabled. The impact is unauthorized data exposure.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating privacy requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. It may result in data breaches, non-compliance with access controls, and potential legal penalties for organizations using affected Lychee versions.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Lychee to version 7.6.3 or later immediately. Review album permissions to ensure no sensitive albums have grants_download enabled without proper access controls. Monitor network traffic for unauthorized /api/v2/Zip requests.

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