CVE-2026-28784
Craftcms Craft Cms 4.0.0 – 4.17.0
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-28784 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (CWE-1336) vulnerability in Craftcms Craft Cms. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Template Injection (T1221); ranked at the 42th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-28784 is a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Craft, a content management system (CMS). It affects versions prior to 5.8.22 and 4.16.18, stemming from the ability to craft a malicious payload using the Twig map filter in text fields that accept Twig input under Settings in the Craft control panel or via the System Messages utility.
Exploitation requires administrator access to the Craft Control Panel with allowAdminChanges enabled, which is against recommendations for non-development environments. Alternatively, a non-administrator account with access to the System Messages utility can exploit it. Successful attacks enable RCE, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and association to CWE-1336.
To mitigate, users should update to the patched versions 5.8.22 or 4.16.18. Advisories emphasize setting allowAdminChanges to false in production, as detailed in the Craft knowledge base article at https://craftcms.com/knowledge-base/securing-craft#set-allowAdminChanges-to-false-in-production, the GitHub pull request at https://github.com/craftcms/cms/pull/18208, and the security advisory at https://github.com/craftcms/cms/security/advisories/GHSA-qc86-q28f-ggww.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9451
Vulnerability Data
Craft is a content management system (CMS). Prior to 5.8.22 and 4.16.18, it is possible to craft a malicious payload using the Twig map filter in text fields that accept Twig input under Settings in the Craft control panel or…
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using the System Messages utility, which could lead to a RCE. For this to work, you must have administrator access to the Craft Control Panel, and allowAdminChanges must be enabled for this to work, which is against our recommendations for any non-dev environment. Alternatively, you can have a non-administrator account with allowAdminChanges disabled, but you have access to the System Messages utility. Users should update to the patched versions (5.8.22 and 4.16.18) to mitigate the issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.3.2V1.3.7V1.3.10
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and static analysis can discover missing neutralization of template directives.
Input validation rejects or sanitizes untrusted data before it reaches the template engine, stopping injection of special syntax.
Security engineering principles require use of safe templating APIs and proper escaping of external input.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require proper input neutralization in template engines to prevent injection.
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.
Security testing can detect template-injection flaws but does not itself implement neutralization controls.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and sanitization that directly prevents template-injection weaknesses.
Application security requirements explicitly call for neutralizing special elements in template engines.
Secure architecture principles reduce the likelihood of unsafe template processing but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.
Secure coding standards require proper escaping or sandboxing of template directives, directly mitigating CWE-1336.