Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-36113

Access Control in Discourse ≤ 3.2.3

Published
03 July 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0042 34th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-36113 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Discourse Discourse. Its CVSS base score is 4.9 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Account Access Removal (T1531); ranked at the 34th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to version 3.2.3 on the `stable` branch, version 3.3.0.beta3 on the `beta` branch, and version 3.3.0.beta4-dev on the `tests-passed` branch, a rogue staff user could suspend other staff users preventing them from logging…

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in to the site. The issue is patched in version 3.2.3 on the `stable` branch, version 3.3.0.beta3 on the `beta` branch, and version 3.3.0.beta4-dev on the `tests-passed` branch. No known workarounds are available.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1531 Account Access Removal Impact
Adversaries may interrupt availability of system and network resources by inhibiting access to accounts utilized by legitimate users.
Why these techniques?

The vulnerability enables a rogue staff user to suspend other staff users, including admins and moderators, preventing them from logging in, which directly facilitates Account Access Removal (T1531) to impair legitimate access or hinder threat response.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-24972Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2025-26372Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-26368Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-26377Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-28103Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-26370Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-22611Shared CWE-862
CVE-2024-9161Shared CWE-862
CVE-2025-31736Shared CWE-862
CVE-2024-9109Shared CWE-862

Affected Assets

discourse
discourse
3.3.0 · ≤ 3.2.3 · ≤ 3.3.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring an access control policy ensures authorization checks are defined and applied for critical functions.

addresses: CWE-862

Reviews of access controls detect missing authorization checks on critical functions or resources.

addresses: CWE-862

Documenting permitted unauthenticated actions prevents missing authorization by making all exceptions explicit and subject to organizational review.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring attribute association with information prevents authorization from being performed without necessary security or privacy context.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization prior to allowing remote connections addresses missing authorization for remote access.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization before wireless connections are allowed prevents missing authorization for wireless access.

addresses: CWE-862

The control requires authorization before allowing mobile device connections, directly mitigating missing authorization for system access.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring approvals for account creation and specifying authorizations ensures authorization is not missing for system access.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 full match
prevents

Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.

prevents

Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.

prevents

Mandatory authorization checks and central records of granted rights ensure that every access attempt is preceded by an explicit decision rather than relying on missing checks.

mitigates

Segregating the approval of access rights from their implementation provides an independent check that reduces the impact of missing authorization checks in the resulting system configuration.

detects

By requiring competent outsiders to verify that every function enforces the need-to-know principle, the control lowers the likelihood that missing authorization checks persist undetected.

prevents

Defining authorization responsibilities and reviewing risk-treatment progress throughout the project lifecycle catches missing authorization checks before the system is deployed.

References