Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2026-31805 is a medium-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Discourse Discourse. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 14th 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 AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — 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-2026-31805 is an authorization bypass vulnerability in the poll plugin of Discourse, an open-source discussion platform. It affects versions prior to 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2. The flaw occurs because passing the post_id parameter as an array (e.g., post_id[]=&post_id[]=) causes the authorization check to resolve to an accessible post, while the poll lookup resolves to a different post's poll. This impacts the vote, remove_vote, and toggle_status endpoints in DiscoursePoll::PollsController. The vulnerability is associated with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), and it has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).
Authenticated users can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity to manipulate polls they lack access to, such as voting, removing votes, or toggling the open/closed status. The bypass relies on the array parameter trick to decouple authorization from poll actions, allowing unauthorized interference in poll outcomes on affected Discourse instances.
Patches addressing this issue are available in Discourse versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2. Security practitioners should upgrade to these versions promptly. Additional details are provided in the GitHub security advisory at https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-fgxm-prjv-g823 and the patching commit at https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/1a6b3cdd8939053f485a60a6ea004a40878392c4.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-13494
Vulnerability Data
Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2, an authorization bypass in the poll plugin allowed authenticated users to vote on, remove votes from, or toggle the open/closed status of polls they did not have…
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access to. By passing post_id as an array (e.g. post_id[]=&post_id[]=), the authorization check resolves to the accessible post while the poll lookup resolves to a different post's poll. This affects the vote, remove_vote, and toggle_status endpoints in DiscoursePoll::PollsController. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 11 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
AC-3 directly requires correct enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally preventing incorrect checks.
AC-24 ensures access-control decisions are made and applied consistently, reducing the chance of an incorrect authorization result.
A reference monitor that is always invoked and tamper-proof forces every authorization decision through a verified, correct path.
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing input validation through analysis or test cases.
SI-10 directly requires validity checks on information inputs, structurally preventing improper or missing validation.
Least-privilege assignments shrink the set of authorizations that must be checked correctly, limiting exposure to flawed checks.
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.
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.
Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.
Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.
Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.
Secure-coding guidelines and mandatory security testing (including code scans) compel developers to validate and sanitize inputs at design and implementation time, lowering the incidence of malformed or malicious data reaching downstream components.
Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.
Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
- V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
- V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
- V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-20
- V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863