Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2026-25544: @payloadcms/drizzle has SQL Injection in JSON/RichText Queries on PostgreSQL/SQLite Adapters
Payload is a free and open source headless content management system.
CVSS 9.8 Critical EPSS 1.0% · p61
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 1.0%, percentile 61: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.0% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 61% of all scored CVEs (moderate). 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
@payloadcms/drizzle(npm) < 3.73.0, fixed in 3.73.0. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.
What it is
Payload is a free and open source headless content management system. Prior to 3.73.0, when querying JSON or richText fields, user input was directly embedded into SQL without escaping, enabling blind SQL injection attacks. An unauthenticated attacker could extract sensitive data (emails, password reset tokens) and achieve full account takeover without password cracking. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.73.0.
From the GitHub advisory
Impact
When querying JSON or richText fields, user input was directly embedded into SQL without escaping, enabling blind SQL Injection attacks. An unauthenticated attacker could extract sensitive data (emails, password reset tokens) and achieve full account takeover without password cracking.
Users are affected if ALL of these are true:
1. Payload version
Users are NOT affected if:
Weakness type: CWE-89.
Product: @payloadcms/drizzle (npm) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-02-06
Affected and fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable | First fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | @payloadcms/drizzle | < 3.73.0 | 3.73.0 |
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| payloadcms | payload | < 3.73.0 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_M | 3.1 | 9.8 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: low
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
- Scope: unchanged
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 total.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.96% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 61.
Timeline
- — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xx6w-jxg9-2wh8 published (critical)
- — CVE record published by GitHub_M
- — CVE record last updated
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-xx6w-jxg9-2wh8 github.com
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-25544 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2026-25544 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com