vulnerability / NVI-00005307 / Revision 4
Craft CMS Vulnerable to Privilege Escalation/Bypass through UsersController->actionImpersonateWithToken()
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for craftcms/cms, craftcms/cms. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
9.8 CRITICAL (3.1)
nvd@nist.gov severity; no combined Null risk score.
7.7 HIGH (4.0)
security-advisories@github.com severity; no combined Null risk score.
9.362%
FIRST EPSS model v2026.06.15; exploitation probability over 30 days, percentile 0.95392. Missing scores are unknown.
As of · FIRST EPSS
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
craftcms/cms
source listed>= 4.0.0-RC1, <= 4.17.5
### Summary A low-privilege user (or an unauthenticated user who has been sent a shared URL) can escalate their privileges to admin by abusing `UsersController->actionImpersonateWithToken`. Affected users should update to Craft 4.17.6 and 5.9.12 to mitigate the issue. ### Details This vulnerability allows any low-privilege user to escalate their privileges and become an admin, or, in extreme circumstances, unprivileged users to do the same. Therefore, this vulnerability affects Craft Pro and Team more than Craft Solo. Specifically, an attacker who possesses a valid “preview token” can then append `&action=users/impersonate-with-token&userId=1&prevUserId=1` to the preview URL to hijack the request into the impersonation endpoint, logging in as any user (including admin) without authentication. Getting the preview token is easy, and all an editor would have to do is create a single article, click “Preview”, and then recover this token. Here’s what happens: 1. The action re-dispatch in `actionPreview()` passes `$skipSpecialHandling=true` to `handleRequest()`, bypassing all security guards, and passes `$checkToken=false` to `checkIfActionRequest()`, which allows an attacker-contr
craftcms/cms
source listed>= 5.0.0-RC1, <= 5.9.11
### Summary A low-privilege user (or an unauthenticated user who has been sent a shared URL) can escalate their privileges to admin by abusing `UsersController->actionImpersonateWithToken`. Affected users should update to Craft 4.17.6 and 5.9.12 to mitigate the issue. ### Details This vulnerability allows any low-privilege user to escalate their privileges and become an admin, or, in extreme circumstances, unprivileged users to do the same. Therefore, this vulnerability affects Craft Pro and Team more than Craft Solo. Specifically, an attacker who possesses a valid “preview token” can then append `&action=users/impersonate-with-token&userId=1&prevUserId=1` to the preview URL to hijack the request into the impersonation endpoint, logging in as any user (including admin) without authentication. Getting the preview token is easy, and all an editor would have to do is create a single article, click “Preview”, and then recover this token. Here’s what happens: 1. The action re-dispatch in `actionPreview()` passes `$skipSpecialHandling=true` to `handleRequest()`, bypassing all security guards, and passes `$checkToken=false` to `checkIfActionRequest()`, which allows an attacker-contr
craftcms/cms
source listedECOSYSTEM: introduced 4.0.0-RC1; fixed 4.17.6
### Summary A low-privilege user (or an unauthenticated user who has been sent a shared URL) can escalate their privileges to admin by abusing `UsersController->actionImpersonateWithToken`. Affected users should update to Craft 4.17.6 and 5.9.12 to mitigate the issue. ### Details This vulnerability allows any low-privilege user to escalate their privileges and become an admin, or, in extreme circumstances, unprivileged users to do the same. Therefore, this vulnerability affects Craft Pro and Team more than Craft Solo. Specifically, an attacker who possesses a valid “preview token” can then append `&action=users/impersonate-with-token&userId=1&prevUserId=1` to the preview URL to hijack the request into the impersonation endpoint, logging in as any user (including admin) without authentication. Getting the preview token is easy, and all an editor would have to do is create a single article, click “Preview”, and then recover this token. Here’s what happens: 1. The action re-dispatch in `actionPreview()` passes `$skipSpecialHandling=true` to `handleRequest()`, bypassing all security guards, and passes `$checkToken=false` to `checkIfActionRequest()`, which allows an attacker-contr
craftcms/cms
source listedECOSYSTEM: introduced 5.0.0-RC1; fixed 5.9.12
### Summary A low-privilege user (or an unauthenticated user who has been sent a shared URL) can escalate their privileges to admin by abusing `UsersController->actionImpersonateWithToken`. Affected users should update to Craft 4.17.6 and 5.9.12 to mitigate the issue. ### Details This vulnerability allows any low-privilege user to escalate their privileges and become an admin, or, in extreme circumstances, unprivileged users to do the same. Therefore, this vulnerability affects Craft Pro and Team more than Craft Solo. Specifically, an attacker who possesses a valid “preview token” can then append `&action=users/impersonate-with-token&userId=1&prevUserId=1` to the preview URL to hijack the request into the impersonation endpoint, logging in as any user (including admin) without authentication. Getting the preview token is easy, and all an editor would have to do is create a single article, click “Preview”, and then recover this token. Here’s what happens: 1. The action re-dispatch in `actionPreview()` passes `$skipSpecialHandling=true` to `handleRequest()`, bypassing all security guards, and passes `$checkToken=false` to `checkIfActionRequest()`, which allows an attacker-contr
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. FIRST EPSS
- vendor patch
The original advisory lists fixed boundaries 4.17.6 for craftcms/cms. Confirm the publisher’s latest guidance.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database via OSV
- vendor patch
The original advisory lists fixed boundaries 5.9.12 for craftcms/cms. Confirm the publisher’s latest guidance.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database via OSV
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
- NVD lastModified does not establish freshness of every associated CPE record.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-cc7p-2j3x-x7xf ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
- GHSA-cc7p-2j3x-x7xf ↗
GitHub Advisory Database via OSV · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub-origin advisory, CC-BY-4.0; OSV is an aggregate copy, not independent corroboration.
- CVE-2026-32267 ↗
NIST National Vulnerability Database · official catalog
Observed . This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- CVE-2026-32267 ↗
FIRST EPSS · official catalog
Observed . FIRST EPSS; probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, not local compromise. Dataset date/model retained; FIRST services terms apply.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 4 ·
Source facts changed; compare the preserved prior revision.
- Revision 3 ·
Source facts changed; compare the preserved prior revision.
- Revision 2 ·
Dated EPSS estimate updated; this is not a new disclosure or proof of exploitation.