CVE-2026-111904 thorsten CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders responsible for phpMyFAQ installations should assess exposure and prioritize patching or mitigation. This includes verifying the affected versions of phpMyFAQ and applying patches or mitigations to prevent exploitation. Additionally, defenders should review compensating controls for exposed systems and monitor for suspicious activity.

Why it matters

CVE-2026-111904 is a medium-severity information disclosure vulnerability in phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta. Defenders should prioritize verifying the affected versions of phpMyFAQ and applying patches or mitigations to prevent exploitation.

• Verify patching or mitigation for phpMyFAQ installations
• Restrict access to the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint
• Monitor for suspicious activity on the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint

Technical summary

The vulnerability is caused by an inverted api.onlyPublicQuestions check in OpenQuestionController. This allows attackers to retrieve non-public moderation or internal questions and their associated usernames by sending GET requests to the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint. The issue was identified in phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta. Defenders should prioritize verifying the affected versions of phpMyFAQ and applying patches or mitigations to prevent exploitation. The vulnerability has a medium severity with a CVSS score of 6.9.

Defensive priority

Defenders should prioritize verifying the affected versions of phpMyFAQ and applying patches or mitigations to prevent exploitation.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify the version of phpMyFAQ and apply patches or mitigations if necessary
• Restrict access to the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint
• Monitor for suspicious activity on the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint
• 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
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up

Evidence notes

The vulnerability is caused by an inverted api.onlyPublicQuestions check in OpenQuestionController. This allows attackers to retrieve non-public moderation or internal questions and their associated usernames by sending GET requests to the /api/v4.0/open-questions endpoint. The issue was identified in phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta. Defenders should verify the affected versions and apply patches or mitigations.

Sources and references

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.