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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2026-42163 Mahara CVE debrief

Mahara before 25.04.5 and 26.04.0 is vulnerable to unauthorized access to internal accounts via Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) under certain circumstances. This applies to LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3 Advantage. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication and gain access to sensitive information. Organizations should review their LTI configurations and ensure that Mahara is patched to a secure version.

Vendor
Mahara
Product
Mahara
CVSS
CRITICAL 9.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-08-17
Original CVE updated
2026-08-31
Advisory published
2026-08-17
Advisory updated
2026-08-31

Who should care

Organizations using Mahara, especially those with LTI integrations, should be aware of this vulnerability and take steps to mitigate it. This includes reviewing LTI configurations, monitoring for suspicious activity, and ensuring that Mahara is patched to a secure version. Security teams and vulnerability management teams should prioritize patching and review compensating controls for exposed systems. Additionally, operators of Mahara instances should verify the affected scope and vendor guidance with the CVE Program record and the NIST NVD detail page.

Technical summary

The vulnerability allows unauthorized access to internal accounts via Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) under certain circumstances. This applies to LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3 Advantage. The issue arises from inadequate authentication mechanisms in Mahara, which can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access. To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should update Mahara to version 25.04.5 or 26.04.0 and review their LTI configurations.

Defensive priority

Organizations using Mahara should prioritize patching to prevent unauthorized access.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Patch Mahara to version 25.04.5 or 26.04.0
  • Review and update LTI configurations
  • Monitor for suspicious activity
  • Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
  • Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review

Evidence notes

The CVE record was created on 2026-08-17T22:17:05.687Z and last modified on 2026-08-31T20:12:02.273Z. The NVD entry is currently Deferred. This information is based on the CVE Program record and the NIST NVD detail page. Defenders should verify the affected scope and vendor guidance with these sources.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-42163 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42163

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-42163 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42163

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.