VulnerabilityPublished 22 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-24042: appsmithorg appsmith · Missing Authorization

Affects appsmithorg appsmithSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.4 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.4Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 50% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
appsmithorgappsmith	Affected <=1.94	Fixed in–
GitHubappsmithorg/appsmith`pkg:github/appsmithorg/appsmith`Other threats	Affected <=1.94	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Until an official patch is released, European organizations should implement several specific mitigations to reduce risk. First, restrict public access to Appsmith applications by enforcing network-level controls such as IP whitelisting, VPN access, or web application firewalls (WAFs) to limit exposure to trusted users only. Second, configure reverse proxies or API gateways to validate and block requests that omit or set 'viewMode=false' on the /api/v1/actions/execute endpoint, effectively preventing unauthorized execution of edit-mode actions. Third, conduct thorough audits of all Appsmith applications to identify any publicly accessible instances and assess the sensitivity of exposed data. Fourth, implement strict monitoring and alerting on API usage patterns indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unusual POST requests to the vulnerable endpoint. Fifth, consider temporarily disabling or removing unpublished actions or development APIs from public-facing environments. Finally, maintain close communication with the Appsmith vendor and community for updates on patches or official fixes, and plan for rapid deployment once available. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, request validation, and operational monitoring specific to the vulnerability's exploitation vector.

Description

CVE-2026-24042 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Appsmith versions 1.94 and below. It allows unauthenticated users to execute unpublished, edit-mode actions by manipulating the POST /api/v1/actions/execute endpoint with the viewMode parameter. This bypasses the intended publish boundary, exposing sensitive data and enabling execution of development queries and APIs. The flaw can lead to unauthorized data access and unintended side effects. No official patch is available at the time of disclosure. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.4, indicating high exploitability and impact without requiring authentication or user interaction. European organizations using Appsmith for internal tools and dashboards are at risk, especially those with publicly accessible apps. Immediate mitigation and monitoring are advised to prevent exploitation.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to the confidentiality and integrity of internal data and systems. Appsmith is commonly used to build internal dashboards and admin tools that often interface with sensitive databases and APIs. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized data disclosure, including development secrets, business-critical information, or personally identifiable information (PII) protected under GDPR. The ability to execute edit-mode actions may also allow attackers to manipulate backend systems or trigger unintended side effects, potentially disrupting business operations or causing data corruption. Organizations with publicly accessible Appsmith applications are particularly vulnerable, as attackers do not require authentication or user interaction to exploit the flaw. This could lead to regulatory compliance issues, reputational damage, and financial losses. The lack of an official patch at disclosure heightens the risk, necessitating immediate mitigation efforts. Furthermore, the vulnerability could be leveraged as a foothold for further lateral movement within enterprise networks, increasing the overall threat landscape for European businesses relying on Appsmith.

CWE-862Missing Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #4OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/appsmithorg/appsmith/security/advisories/GHSA-j9qq-4fj9-9883 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 29 Jan 2026, 08:56 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-862

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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