Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-105851: Payload: Field access control bypass on auth collections
Payload is a free and open source headless content management system.
CVSS 9.3 Critical EPSS 0.2% · p15
Should you act?
Critical and remotely reachable
No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.
- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 0.2%, percentile 15: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 15% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes
payload(npm) > 3.0.0, < 3.90.0, fixed in 3.90.0;payload(npm) > 4.0.0-canary.0, < 4.0.0-canary.34, fixed in 4.0.0-canary.34. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
Payload is a free and open source headless content management system. In versions from 3.0.0 before 3.90.0 and canary versions before 4.0.0-canary.34, the duplicate operation copies values from a source document even when a field is hidden or its access.read or access.create rule rejects that value for the caller. The disableDuplicate setting does not prevent this access-control bypass. This issue is fixed in versions 3.90.0 and 4.0.0-canary.34.
From the GitHub advisory
Impact
Payload's duplicate operation copies field values from the source document even when a field is hidden, or its access.read or access.create rule would reject the value for that caller.
The disableDuplicate collection setting, enabled by default on auth collections, did not stop this.
Patches
Users should upgrade Payload packages to >= 3.90.0 or >= 4.0.0-canary.34.
Weakness type: CWE-284, CWE-863.
Product: payload (npm) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-10-06
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | payload | > 3.0.0, < 3.90.0 | 3.90.0 |
| npm | payload | > 4.0.0-canary.0, < 4.0.0-canary.34 | 4.0.0-canary.34 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| payloadcms | payload | > 3.0.0, < 3.90.0, > 4.0.0-canary.0, < 4.0.0-canary.34 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_M | 4.0 | 9.3 Critical | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N |
| GitHub | 4.0 | 9.3 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Attack requirements: none
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.
Exploitation and urgency
- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact partial.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.25% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 15.
Timeline
- — CVE record last updated
- — CVE record published by GitHub_M
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-vc4h-q48j-5hcx published (critical)
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vulnerability records
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-vc4h-q48j-5hcx github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-105851 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-105851 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com
- github.com github.com
- github.com github.com