Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-61836

Access Control in Monospace Directus ≤ 12.0.0

Published
15 July 2026
Modified
28 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-61836 is a high-severity Use of Cache Containing Sensitive Information (CWE-524) vulnerability in Monospace Directus. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unsecured Credentials (T1552); ranked at the 19th 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-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Prior to 12.0.0, when response caching is enabled, the cache-key derivation in api/src/utils/get-cache-key.ts includes version, path, query, and accountability.user but omits authorization context such as share, role,…

more

roles, admin, app, and policies. Directus share tokens and anonymous requests can both reduce to user null, so different shares or anonymous clients requesting the same URL and query can receive a permission-filtered cached response without permission re-evaluation. This issue is fixed in version 12.0.0.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-45596Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2024-6534Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2025-53885Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2024-47822Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2026-39942Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2024-6533Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2024-39699Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2026-61835Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2023-26492Same product: Monospace Directus
CVE-2026-35409Same product: Monospace Directus

Affected Assets

monospace
directus
≤ 12.0.0

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)
  • V14.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Enforcing approved authorizations on every access request structurally stops a user-controlled key from reaching another user's data.

Requiring explicit access-control decisions on each request blocks unauthorized key-driven access.

Directly prevents unauthorized transfer of information through shared resources such as caches.

Controls information flows to keep sensitive data from leaving its authorized control sphere via caches.

Least-privilege restrictions limit the scope of data reachable even if a key check is bypassed.

Requires cryptographic or other protection of sensitive information at rest, which covers cached data.

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

Enforcing authorization policy and least privilege directly blocks user-controlled key tampering that bypasses access checks.

PR.DS-01 mostly match
prevents

Protecting confidentiality of data-at-rest covers caches that persist sensitive information.

PR.IR-01 mostly match
prevents

Logical access controls prevent unauthorized data access that results from missing authorization checks on object references.

PR.DS-10 partial match
prevents

Protecting data-in-use can mitigate exposure when caches hold transient sensitive values.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can disable or secure caching of sensitive data.

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

Data leakage prevention can block unauthorized access to cached sensitive information.

finds

Security testing can detect missing authorization checks but does not prevent the weakness in production.

prevents

Information access restriction directly limits who can read cached sensitive data.

prevents

Access control policy directly requires enforcement of authorization rules that prevent unauthorized access via manipulated keys.

prevents

Managing access rights includes ensuring users can only access their own records and not bypass authorization by altering identifiers.

mitigates

Information deletion ensures sensitive data is removed from caches when no longer needed.

References