Improper access control in Discourse - CVE-2024-53991
Published: December 19, 2024 / Updated: July 1, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU136100
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2024-53991
CWE-ID: CWE-284
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to disclose sensitive information.
The vulnerability exists due to improper access control in nginx backup file handling when processing a well crafted request for a backup file. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted request to disclose sensitive information.
Only instances configured to use FileStore::LocalStore for local storage of uploads and backups are affected, and exploitation requires knowledge of the backup file name.
Affected software
Discourse
How to mitigate CVE-2024-53991
Install security update from vendor's website.
Discourse - addressed in versions 3.3.3, 3.4.0 beta4