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CVE Record

CVE-2026-44174: Kirby: Arbitrary Method Call via REST API search and collection query endpoints

Kirby is an open-source content management system. Prior to 4.9.1 and 5.4.1, Kirby did not validate the model attributes that were used in its collection queries, allowing attackers to include arbitrary model methods in their queries. This includes methods with sensitive data such as password() (disclosing the password hash) or root() (disclosing the absolute filesystem path on the server) as well as methods that perform impactful actions such as loginPasswordless() (causing a privilege escalation to another user) or delete() (deleting all queried models in one go if the authenticated user has appropriate permissions). This issue has been fixed in versions 4.9.1 and 5.4.1.

HighCVSS 8.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Kirby CMS versions before the fixed releases let an authenticated attacker abuse REST API query behavior to call model methods that were not meant to be exposed. Reported impacts include leaking password hashes or server paths, escalating privileges, or deleting queried content when the attacker already has sufficient permissions.

Executive priority

Treat this as a high-priority patch for any internet-facing or multi-user Kirby deployment. The business risk is not just data exposure; the advisory also describes privilege escalation and content deletion paths, depending on attacker permissions.

Technical view

The flaw is CWE-470: uncontrolled selection of model methods through collection query attributes in REST API search and collection query endpoints. Affected versions are Kirby <4.9.1 and 5.0.0 through <5.4.1. CVSS 4.0 is 8.7: network-accessible, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to organizations running affected Kirby CMS versions with REST API functionality reachable by authenticated users. The source bundle identifies only getkirby/kirby as affected and does not name downstream products, hosted services, or specific deployment configurations.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires low-privileged authenticated access. The advisory describes sensitive method exposure and impactful method calls, but no public exploit status is provided in the supplied sources.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on version confirmation and authenticated REST API exposure. The supplied evidence supports arbitrary model method invocation through collection query attributes, with examples including password hash disclosure, filesystem path disclosure, passwordless login impact, and delete operations. Do not assume unauthenticated reachability or active exploitation without new evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Kirby 4.x deployments to version 4.9.1 or later.
  • Upgrade Kirby 5.x deployments to version 5.4.1 or later.
  • Review vendor advisory and release notes for any deployment-specific guidance.
  • Prioritize systems where untrusted or many users can authenticate.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Kirby versions across production, staging, and developer deployments.
  • Confirm no running instance is below 4.9.1 or in 5.0.0 through 5.4.0.
  • Identify REST API exposure paths and who can authenticate to them.
  • Review logs for unusual authenticated REST API query activity.
  • Verify backups exist for affected content repositories before and after upgrade.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-470: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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description · low confidence lookup

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-44174 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.7 (4.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
4Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.7CVSS 4.0HighCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——GitHub_M

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 4.0 score

8.7High
CVSS 4.0 vector shape for CVE-2026-44174Attack VectorAttack ComplexityAttack RequirementsPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionVS ConfidentialityVS IntegrityVS AvailabilitySS ConfidentialitySS IntegritySS Availability

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Attack Requirements
NonePresent
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NonePassiveActive
VS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
VS Integrity
HighLowNone
VS Availability
HighLowNone
SS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
SS Integrity
HighLowNone
SS Availability
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
getkirbykirby< 4.9.1, >= 5.0.0, < 5.4.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-470

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-470 · source CWE mapping

Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection')

Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs