Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 before 7.4.1 Missing Authorization via Is edit protected Annotation
Only affects Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 before 7.4.1 when $smwgEditProtectionRight is enabled. Fixed in 7.4.1.
Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
- Fix
- Fixed in 7.4.1
- Who is exposed
- Specific setups only
Do first: Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs. Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 up to but not including 7.4.1 is affected. $smwgEditProtectionRight must be enabled (set to a right such as smw-pageedit).
- Published
- Last modified
- Whether it needs action now or is a reference record, by fixed rules, with why. Last checked is when cve.now last re-read it.What do these mean? →
- Reference
- Last checked
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 15/100 · provisional
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Specific setups only
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
Semantic MediaWiki, a wiki extension, has a missing authorization flaw that lets users with ordinary editing rights, but without the edit-protection right, lock pages by adding an "Is edit protected" annotation, including through widely transcluded templates. The lock can stop other editors and administrators from editing, moving, or deleting those pages indefinitely; the attack is carried out remotely by a logged-in user and needs no further user action.
Read the original description
Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 before 7.4.1 contains a missing authorization vulnerability that allows editors without the edit-protection right to lock pages by adding an Is edit protected annotation. Attackers can add [[Is edit protected::true]] to pages or #set it in widely transcluded templates, so the TitleQuickPermissions hook blocks other editors and administrators from editing, moving or deleting them indefinitely.
Who should check
Teams running Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 through 7.4.0 on MediaWiki wikis where $smwgEditProtectionRight is enabled.
Not fixed by: Earlier GHSA-9824 fix alone does not stop the stored annotation from locking pages.
Read the source excerpt
“Affected: every release that has the GHSA-9824 fix (7.3.1 and later, including current master). Earlier releases (2.5.0 and later) are affected by this path too”
cve.now Index
- Exploitation?/40Unknown. No CISA SSVC exploitation rating yet
- Exposure8/25Specific setups only, reachable over the network
- Reach?/20Unknown. No tracked technology or package matched
- Severity7.1/10CVSS 7.1
- No patch0/5No signal
What would change the score
- Would score about 65 if added to CISA KEV
- Would score about 60 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
- Would score about 22 if CISA's SSVC rates it automatable
What to do
Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs.
Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 up to but not including 7.4.1 is affected. $smwgEditProtectionRight must be enabled (set to a right such as smw-pageedit).Upgrade to a fixed version: 7.4.1.
A source says this fix is incomplete.
Check your systems with an agent
Paste this into a coding or ops agent. It checks your systems read-only and reports a table per asset.
Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-126561 (Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 before 7.4.1 Missing Authorization via Is edit protected Annotation), using the cve.now data below. Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only. What cve.now has for CVE-2026-126561 (entry last updated 2026-11-11): Affected: - SemanticMediaWiki SemanticMediaWiki: from 2.5.0, fixed in 7.4.1 Fixed versions: 7.4.1. The fix is partial: the advisory says it does not fully address the issue, so an upgraded asset may still be affected. Conditions (all must be true for the bug to be hit): - Semantic MediaWiki 2.5.0 up to but not including 7.4.1 is affected. (source: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/semantic-mediawiki-2.5.0-before-7.4.1-missing-authorization-via-is-edit-protected-annotation) - $smwgEditProtectionRight must be enabled (set to a right such as smw-pageedit). (source: https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/security/advisories/GHSA-9w3p-9m8x-j2mw) Setup: the bug needs a feature or setting that is off by default or uncommon. Check whether each asset has it on. Attacker needs: network access, low-privilege login, no user action. CISA KEV: CVE-2026-126561 is not listed as of cve.now's last read. This KEV status is for CVE-2026-126561 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one. How to check: - Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory. Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one: - https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/security/advisories/GHSA-9w3p-9m8x-j2mw - https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/commit/ca81329c74aa64077f367e02ad00c079458ef10a - https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/releases/tag/7.4.1 - https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/SemanticMediaWiki/blob/7.4.0/src/Protection/ProtectionValidator.php#L293-L311 - https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/semantic-mediawiki-2.5.0-before-7.4.1-missing-authorization-via-is-edit-protected-annotation Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing. Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action. Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-126561 For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example get_vulnerability with id CVE-2026-126561.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
Affected versions
- SemanticMediaWiki SemanticMediaWiki
From 2.5.0 · fixed in 7.4.1
Evidence 7
Vendor advisory · 1
Establishes: Affected and fixed versions.
- Advisory
CVE record · 2
Establishes: The identifier and description.
- Record
- Record
Other links · 4
- Patch
- Repository
- Repository
- Link
Corrections
None so far.
Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.
Questions about CVE-2026-126561
Is CVE-2026-126561 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: cve.now feed data
What does this mean?
An ordinary editor can lock pages so other users, including administrators, cannot edit, move or delete them, with no end date, by setting the stored "Is edit protected" annotation. The protection is enforced through the TitleQuickPermissions hook.Source: vulncheck.com, github.com
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-126561?
SemanticMediaWiki: from 2.5.0 before 7.4.1.Source: cve.now feed data
Am I affected, and how do I check?
Semantic MediaWiki versions from 2.5.0 up to but not including 7.4.1 are affected, but only when $smwgEditProtectionRight is enabled (set to a right such as smw-pageedit); its default is false. To check a wiki, compare the installed Semantic MediaWiki version on Special:Version with the affected range, and look for $smwgEditProtectionRight in LocalSettings.php.Source: vulncheck.com, github.com
How do I fix CVE-2026-126561?
Upgrade Semantic MediaWiki to 7.4.1 or later, which is the patched version.Source: vulncheck.com, github.com
Is the fix complete?
The advisory lists 7.4.1 as the patched version, but the checked facts mark the fix as partial and do not say which part remains unfixed. Check the advisory directly for any remaining gap.Source: vulncheck.com, github.com