GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq
Fix: craftcms/cms@8f6587cGHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq is a CWE-915 vulnerability in craftcms/cms. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Craft CMS's mass assignment via id in newAttributes during bulk duplicate overwrites existing elements
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
craftcms/cmsReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
There is a mass-assignment flaw in the bulk-duplicate element action. Alice, holding only the permission to duplicate an entry she owns, submits an arbitrary id through the newAttributes request parameter. The duplication routine overrides its own id = null reset with that value and writes Alice’s attributes into Bob’s existing entry row.
Details
ElementsController::beforeAction() (src/controllers/ElementsController.php:119-124) pulls the request body into $this->_attributes and rejects requests that ship an id or canonicalId key at the top level:
$this->_attributes = $this->request->getBodyParams();
// No funny business
if (isset($this->_attributes['id']) || isset($this->_attributes['canonicalId'])) {
throw new BadRequestHttpException('Changing an element’s ID is not allowed.');
}
The check inspects only the top-level payload. actionBulkDuplicate() (src/controllers/ElementsController.php:1708-1749) reads a separate newAttributes array and passes it straight through to the service layer:
$elementInfo = $this->request->getRequiredBodyParam('elements');
$newAttributes = $this->request->getRequiredBodyParam('newAttributes');
...
$safeNewAttributes = Collection::make($newAttributes)
->only($element->safeAttributes())
->all();
...
$newElement = $elementsService->duplicateElement(
$element,
$safeNewAttributes + $element::baseBulkDuplicateAttributes(),
false,
checkAuthorization: true,
);
Elements::duplicateElement() (src/services/Elements.php:1814-1840) clones the source element, sets id to null, and then hands the attacker's array to Craft::configure():
$mainClone = clone $element;
$mainClone->id = null;
$mainClone->uid = StringHelper::UUID();
...
Craft::configure($mainClone, ArrayHelper::merge(
$newAttributes,
$siteAttributes[$mainClone->siteId] ?? [],
));
Craft::configure() overwrites the reset id with any numeric value inside $newAttributes. Yii's saveElement() then performs an UPDATE against the row with that primary key instead of an INSERT. Alice's title, slug, authorId, postDate, and UID land on Bob’s entry.
safeAttributes() on Entry includes id because the base element model exposes it, so the Collection::only() filter does not strip it.
Impact
A low-privileged author overwrites any other element (entries, categories, users that share the Entry element table inheritance) by predicting or enumerating element IDs. Content integrity on the entire install breaks. The attack requires only the ability to duplicate one entry Alice already owns.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | craftcms/cms | ≥ 5.7.0&&< 5.9.21 | 5.9.21 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for craftcms/cms. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update craftcms/cms to 5.9.21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-x5m4-g2cq-52pq across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.