CVE-2026-54740
Lemmy: Lower-ranked federated moderator can remove higher-ranked moderators
Description
Lemmy is a link aggregator and forum for the fediverse. Prior to 0.19.19 and 1.0.0-alpha.18, a lower-ranked remote moderator can remove a higher-ranked moderator by sending a signed ActivityPub Remove activity to the target instance. The local API uses LocalUser::is_higher_mod_or_admin_check to enforce moderator rank, but CollectionRemove::verify in crates/apub/activities/src/community/collection_remove.rs only calls verify_mod_action. CollectionRemove::receive dereferences self.object as an ApubPerson, creates a CommunityModeratorForm, and calls CommunityActions::leave without checking that the actor outranks the moderator identified by the object field. In communities with federated moderators, a junior moderator can therefore strip senior moderators from the community moderator list even though the local API rejects the same action. This issue is fixed in versions 0.19.19 and 1.0.0-alpha.18.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 19, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 20, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update Lemmy to version 0.19.19 or 1.0.0-alpha.18.
- Apply security patches provided by the vendor.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-54740.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-54740 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-54740
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-54740 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-54740 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Aug. 20, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/security/advisories/GHSA-xmpx-2j2f-c7g7 Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-54740', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'poc'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-08-20T19:57:07.165095Z'} -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Aug. 19, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'LemmyNet', 'product': 'lemmy', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '< 0.19.19'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '>= 1.0.0-alpha.0, < 1.0.0-alpha.18'}]}] Added Description Lemmy is a link aggregator and forum for the fediverse. Prior to 0.19.19 and 1.0.0-alpha.18, a lower-ranked remote moderator can remove a higher-ranked moderator by sending a signed ActivityPub Remove activity to the target instance. The local API uses LocalUser::is_higher_mod_or_admin_check to enforce moderator rank, but CollectionRemove::verify in crates/apub/activities/src/community/collection_remove.rs only calls verify_mod_action. CollectionRemove::receive dereferences self.object as an ApubPerson, creates a CommunityModeratorForm, and calls CommunityActions::leave without checking that the actor outranks the moderator identified by the object field. In communities with federated moderators, a junior moderator can therefore strip senior moderators from the community moderator list even though the local API rejects the same action. This issue is fixed in versions 0.19.19 and 1.0.0-alpha.18. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Added CWE CWE-862 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/commit/d127e714a66f34f6b9c8ea15f20097ac907cdf28 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/commit/ede1d348344ca2027fd1bc6a0cab25575c0c3a4c Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/pull/6475 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/pull/6478 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/releases/tag/0.19.19 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/releases/tag/1.0.0-alpha.18 Added Reference https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/security/advisories/GHSA-xmpx-2j2f-c7g7 Added Reference https://join-lemmy.org/news/2026-06-09_-_Lemmy_Release_v0.19.19