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CVE-2026-25540

MEDIUMCVSS 6.5/10EPSS 0.39%

Last modified

CVE-2026-25540 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 6.5/10 on the CVSS scale. Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to versions 4.3.19, 4.4.13, 4.5.6, Mastodon is vulnerable to web cache poisoning via `Rails.cache. EPSS estimates a 0.39% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to versions 4.3.19, 4.4.13, 4.5.6, Mastodon is vulnerable to web cache poisoning via `Rails.cache. When AUTHORIZED_FETCH is enabled, the ActivityPub endpoints for pinned posts and featured hashtags have contents that depend on the account that signed the HTTP request. However, these contents are stored in an internal cache and reused with no regards to the signing actor. As a result, an empty response generated for a blocked user account may be served to requests from legitimate non-blocked actors, or conversely, content intended for non-blocked actors may be returned to blocked actors. This issue has been patched in versions 4.3.19, 4.4.13, 4.5.6.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
6.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L

EPSS Probability
0.39%

31.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
JoinmastodonMastodon< 4.3.19
JoinmastodonMastodon>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.13
JoinmastodonMastodon>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.6

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-25540?
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to versions 4.3.19, 4.4.13, 4.5.6, Mastodon is vulnerable to web cache poisoning via `Rails.cache. When AUTHORIZED_FETCH is enabled, the ActivityPub endpoints for pinned posts and featured hashtags have contents that depend on the account that signed the HTTP request. However, these contents are stored in an internal cache and reused with no regards to the signing actor. As a result, an empty response generated for a blocked user account may be served to requests from legitimate non-blocked actors, or conversely, content intended for non-blocked actors may be returned to blocked actors. This issue has been patched in versions 4.3.19, 4.4.13, 4.5.6.
How severe is CVE-2026-25540?
CVE-2026-25540 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.39% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-25540?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-25540?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST