Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-35056

RCE in Xenforo ≤ 2.2.18

Public PoCRCE
Published
01 April 2026
Modified
01 April 2026
CVSS Score v4 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS: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:X
EPSS Score 0.0067 49th percentile
Risk Priority 32 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-35056 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Xenforo Xenforo. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked at the 49th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

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-2026-35056 is a remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-94) in XenForo forum software versions before 2.3.9 and before 2.2.18. It enables authenticated but malicious admin users to execute arbitrary code on the server via the admin panel. The vulnerability carries 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 was published on 2026-04-01T01:16:41.593.

An attacker requires valid admin credentials and access to the XenForo admin panel to exploit this issue over the network with low complexity and no user interaction. Successful exploitation grants high-impact control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected server, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the web server process.

XenForo advisories recommend upgrading to version 2.3.9 or 2.2.18, which include fixes for this security issue. Additional details on the authenticated admin RCE are available in the VulnCheck advisory.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

XenForo before 2.3.9 and before 2.2.18 allows remote code execution (RCE) by authenticated, but malicious, admin users. An attacker with admin panel access can execute arbitrary code on the server.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-38458Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2025-71281Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2025-71278Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2024-38457Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2024-25006Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2026-35057Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2026-35054Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2026-35055Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2025-71279Same product: Xenforo Xenforo
CVE-2025-71282Same product: Xenforo Xenforo

Affected Assets

xenforo
xenforo
≤ 2.2.18 · 2.3.0 — 2.3.9

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation finds code paths that accept and execute externally influenced strings.

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from being used to construct executable code without neutralization.

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.

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.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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

Banning unapproved code samples and unauthenticated web services, combined with secure-coding standards and SAST, prevents the dynamic generation or inclusion of attacker-supplied code.

none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References