---
title: "CVE-2026-45010: phpMyFAQ enables unauthenticated 2FA brute-force attack via /admin/check acceptance of arbitrary user-id"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-45010/
description: "CVE-2026-45010 (thorsten/phpmyfaq (Composer (PHP))): phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains an improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2026-05-15
date_modified: 2026-06-09
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2026-45010"
kev: false
cvss: 9.3
epss: 0.00567
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2026-45010: phpMyFAQ enables unauthenticated 2FA brute-force attack via /admin/check acceptance of arbitrary user-id

**Signal:** Critical and remotely reachable. No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- Not in CISA KEV , but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
- EPSS 0.6% , percentile 46: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 46% 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 thorsten/phpmyfaq (Composer (PHP)) <= 4.1.1, fixed in 4.1.2 ; phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (Composer (PHP)) <= 4.1.1, fixed in 4.1.2 . Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

## What it is

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains an improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts vulnerability in the /admin/check endpoint, which accepts arbitrary user-id parameters without session binding or rate limiting. Unauthenticated attackers can brute-force any user's six-digit TOTP code by submitting POST requests with sequential token values, bypassing two-factor authentication to gain full administrative access.

## Affected packages

- Composer (PHP) `thorsten/phpmyfaq` <= 4.1.1 → fixed: 4.1.2
- Composer (PHP) `phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq` <= 4.1.1 → fixed: 4.1.2

## Affected products (CVE record)

- thorsten phpmyfaq: < 4.1.2

## Severity

- VulnCheck CVSS 3.1: 9.1 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`
- VulnCheck CVSS 4.0: 9.3 `CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`
- GitHub CVSS 3.1: 9.1 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`

## Exploitation

- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc , automatable yes , technical impact total .
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.57% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 46.

## Sources

- [GHSA Advisory GHSA-9pq7-mfwh-xx2j](https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-9pq7-mfwh-xx2j)
- [GitHub Advisory GHSA-9pq7-mfwh-xx2j](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9pq7-mfwh-xx2j)
- [CVE.org record CVE-2026-45010](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45010)
- [NVD entry CVE-2026-45010](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45010)
- [VulnCheck Advisory: phpMyFAQ - Unauthenticated Two-Factor Authentication Brute-Force via /admin/check Endpoint](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-unauthenticated-two-factor-authentication-brute-force-via-admin-check-endpoint)

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Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-45010/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt