VulnerabilityPublished 26 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-3525: Drupal File Access Fix (deprecated) · Incorrect Authorization

Affects Drupal File Access Fix (deprecated)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 1.2.0 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.2.0

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

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

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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Mar 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

Upgrade Drupal File Access Fix (deprecated) to 1.2.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
DrupalFile Access Fix (deprecated)	Affected <1.2.0	Fixed in 1.2.0

AI-suggested

Organizations should immediately audit their Drupal environments to identify any use of the deprecated File Access Fix module. If found, they should prioritize removing or replacing the module with supported alternatives that enforce proper authorization controls. Until migration is complete, implement strict web server and application-level access controls to restrict direct file access, including configuring .htaccess or equivalent rules to prevent unauthorized file browsing. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block forceful browsing attempts targeting file access paths. Regularly review and harden Drupal permissions and roles to minimize exposure. Monitor logs for unusual file access patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. Educate development and operations teams about the risks of using deprecated modules and enforce policies to use only actively maintained components. Stay updated with Drupal security advisories for any forthcoming patches or guidance related to this vulnerability. Consider deploying intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on suspicious access attempts. Finally, conduct penetration testing focused on file access controls to validate the effectiveness of mitigations.

Description

Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Drupal File Access Fix (deprecated) allows Forceful Browsing.This issue affects File Access Fix (deprecated): from 0.0.0 before 1.2.0.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-3525 is unauthorized disclosure of sensitive files through forceful browsing, compromising confidentiality. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can access restricted files, potentially exposing sensitive business data, user information, or configuration files. This can lead to data breaches, intellectual property theft, or further exploitation if sensitive credentials or configuration details are exposed. The integrity and availability of systems are less directly impacted but could be affected if attackers leverage accessed information for further attacks. Organizations relying on the deprecated module face increased risk due to lack of ongoing security support. The vulnerability can affect any Drupal-based website or application using this module, which may include government, healthcare, education, and commercial sectors worldwide. The ease of exploitation without authentication increases the threat level, potentially enabling automated scanning and exploitation by attackers. The lack of known exploits currently limits immediate widespread impact but does not reduce the urgency of mitigation.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
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)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

drupal.org/sa-contrib-2026-020 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Mar 2026, 18:08 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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