CVE-2022-26159
Published: 28 February 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-26159 is a medium-severity Forced Browsing (CWE-425) vulnerability in Ametys Ametys. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
The vulnerability is an information disclosure issue (CWE-425) in the auto-completion plugin of Ametys CMS versions prior to 4.5.0. Unauthenticated remote attackers can directly request XML files at paths such as plugins/web/service/search/auto-completion/<domain>/en.xml (and equivalent paths for other languages), which store every character entered by users across the application.
An attacker needs only network access and can retrieve the accumulated contents of these files, exposing usernames, email addresses, and other text typed into private pages, including potential passwords. No authentication or user interaction is required, consistent with the CVSS 5.3 rating reflecting limited confidentiality impact without integrity or availability effects.
The referenced Ametys issue CMS-10973 and associated tooling indicate the flaw is resolved by upgrading to version 4.5.0 or later, which prevents direct access to the auto-completion data files. The EPSS score has remained elevated near its recorded peak of 0.8859 with a current value of 0.8716.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-30725
Vulnerability details
The auto-completion plugin in Ametys CMS before 4.5.0 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to read documents such as plugins/web/service/search/auto-completion/<domain>/en.xml (and similar pathnames for other languages), which contain all characters typed by all users, including the content of private pages. For…
more
example, a private page may contain usernames, e-mail addresses, and possibly passwords.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Forcing a decision on every access request, including direct ones, reduces the exploitability of forced browsing by ensuring no unchecked access paths.
Forces all accesses through the reference monitor, preventing direct or forced requests that bypass checks.
Enforcing access for all logical requests prevents unauthorized direct access to protected resources.
Displaying the notification before further access on public systems prevents direct resource requests from bypassing the required system use terms and consent.
Decoy endpoints catch forced browsing and direct requests, deflecting attackers from legitimate resources while enabling analysis.
Blocks unauthorized direct requests or forced browsing by denying input access to non-authorized actors.