ghost vulnerable to unauthorized newsletter modification via improper access controlsGHSA-9gh8-wp53-ccc6
HIGHGHSA-9gh8-wp53-ccc6 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) CWE-284 vulnerability in ghost. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for ghost — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-9gh8-wp53-ccc6.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
ghostnpmDescription
Impact
On sites where members is enabled (this is the default) it is possible for members (unprivileged users) to make changes to newsletter settings. This gives unprivileged users the ability to view and change settings they were not intended to have access to. They are not able to escalate their privileges permanently or get access to further information. This issue was caused by a gap in our API validation for nested objects.
Ghost(Pro) has already been patched. We can find no evidence that the issue was exploited on Ghost(Pro) prior to the patch being added.
Self-hosters are impacted if running Ghost a version between v4.46.0 and v4.48.7 or any version of v5 prior to v5.22.7. Immediate action should be taken to secure your site - see patches & workarounds below.
Patches
- v4.48.8 / v5.22.7 are patched for all known exploits.
- v4.48.9 / v5.24.1 contain deeper fixes to the API to close the potential for this vulnerability to appear elsewhere or regress
Workarounds
The known exploit can be prevented by disabling members until an update can be performed.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Email us at [email protected]
Credits: Dave McDaniel and other members of Cisco Talos
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | ghost | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.22.7 | 5.22.7npm install ghost@5.22.7 |
| 📦npm | ghost | ≥ 4.46.0&&< 4.48.8 | 4.48.8npm install ghost@4.48.8 |
Affected Products
ghostghostResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ghost, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update ghost to 5.22.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9gh8-wp53-ccc6 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-9gh8-wp53-ccc6 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.