Live Exposure Defense: From CVE to Confirmed Exposure in 12 Hours – See more

Back
New CVE Detected

CVE-2026-48907 – Unauthenticated RCE via Profile Import – Joomla Content Editor (JCE) all version…

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge:

Subscribe to Email Alerts
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Summary

CVE-2026-48907 is a critical unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Joomla Content Editor (JCE) extension for Joomla, affecting all JCE Free and JCE Pro versions prior to 2.9.99.5. By exploiting a missing authorization check on the profile import endpoint, any anonymous internet user can upload and execute arbitrary PHP code on the host server, achieving full system compromise. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS 4.0 score of 10.0 (Critical) and is confirmed to be actively exploited in the wild with automated attack tooling publicly available.

Technical details

  • Root cause: The vulnerability results from three compounding weaknesses in JCE’s editor profile import functionality. First, the profile import endpoint (/index.php?option=com_jce&task=profiles.import) performs no meaningful authorization check — only a CSRF token is required, which attackers can trivially harvest from any public page of the Joomla site. Second, the File::makeSafe() function sanitizes filename characters but does not restrict or validate file extensions, permitting .php, .php5, .phtml, and double-barreled extensions such as .xml.php. Third, the upload call invokes File::upload($source, $destination, false, true) with $allow_unsafe = true, explicitly bypassing Joomla’s built-in extension blocklist.
  • Attack chain: Exploitation requires only three unauthenticated HTTP requests: (1) retrieve a valid CSRF token from any public page of the target site; (2) POST a crafted XML file containing a PHP payload to the profiles import endpoint; (3) request the uploaded file — written to /tmp/ with an executable extension intact — to trigger remote code execution.
  • Attack vector: Network-accessible; no account, session, or prior access required. No user interaction needed.
  • Impact: Full remote code execution on the web server process. Successful exploitation enables web shell deployment, persistent backdoor access, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within the hosting environment.
  • Exploit maturity: Active in-the-wild exploitation confirmed (CVSS 4.0 supplemental metric E:A – Attacked). The attack is automatable (AU:Y), and a public proof-of-concept exploit script is available on GitHub. A Nuclei detection template has been merged into the projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates repository, facilitating automated scanning for vulnerable targets at scale.

Affected software

  • JCE Free – all versions from 1.0.0 through 2.9.99.4 (inclusive)
  • JCE Pro – all versions from 1.0.0 through 2.9.99.4 (inclusive)
  • JCE 2.7.x and 2.8.x – affected; a dedicated free security patch is available from the vendor for installations that cannot upgrade to 2.9.99.5 or later
  • JCE 2.6.x – vendor indicates this branch may not be affected in default configurations; this has not been independently verified

Severity

  • CVSS 4.0 Base Score: 10.0 (Critical)
  • CVSS 4.0 Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:A/AU:Y/U:Red
  • CWE: CWE-284 – Improper Access Control
  • A CVSS v3.1 score has not yet been published by NVD for this record.

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade to JCE 2.9.99.6 (released June 6, 2026; requires PHP 7.4+ and Joomla 3.10+). This version includes the security fix from 2.9.99.5 plus additional hardening measures and is the version recommended by the vendor.
  • If 2.9.99.6 cannot be deployed: Upgrade to JCE 2.9.99.5 (released June 3, 2026) as a minimum viable patch.
  • For older branches (2.7.x, 2.8.x, 2.9.x) on legacy PHP or Joomla versions: The vendor has released a standalone free security patch package. Apply it immediately and plan an accelerated upgrade path.
  • Post-compromise: If exploitation is suspected, the vendor advises deleting any rogue JCE profiles, removing suspicious files uploaded to the /tmp/ directory and web-accessible paths, and rotating all credentials for the affected Joomla instance and its underlying database.
  • Network-level control: If an immediate patch cannot be applied, consider blocking or rate-limiting external access to the path index.php?option=com_jce&task=profiles.import at the web application firewall or reverse proxy layer as a temporary measure.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report

How IONIX’s External Exposure Management Platform Detects and Validates
Zero-Days to Shrink MTTR

1

Map your entire attack surface (continously)

IONIX uses multi-factor discovery methods, including DNS analysis, certificate mapping, metadata inspection, and more, to automatically map every internet-facing asset across your environment. This includes cloud instances, third-party platforms, shadow IT, and even forgotten infrastructure that traditional tools miss.

2

Monitor for new CVEs

Dozens of threat intel feeds using agentic technology are continuously analyzed to detect the appearance of proof-of-concept code, exploit kits, and indicators of active targeting. IONIX goes further by applying AI to proactively evaluate whether emerging vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited, even before PoCs go public.

3

Identify Potential External Exposures

Not all CVEs matter. IONIX filters vulnerabilities by asking attacker-centric questions: Can it be reached from the internet? Does it require authentication? Is it being exploited in the wild? This dramatically reduces noise and focuses teams on threats that can actually be weaponized.

4

Create Safe, Scalable Exploit Validations

IONIX transforms real-world PoCs into safe, non-intrusive test payloads that can be run in production environments without disruption. These simulations are precisely targeted to the systems that are vulnerable, ensuring rapid validation without unnecessary load.

5

Execute Exploit Validations

By combining context about software stack, versioning, exposure status, and reachability, IONIX ensures that only the right payloads are executed against the right assets, maximizing efficiency and minimizing risk.

6

Drive Fast and Actionable Remediation

Results are routed through integrations with ticketing, SOAR, and SIEM tools. Issues are written in plain language, bundled into remediation clusters, and prioritized based on asset criticality, exploitability, and blast radius. This shortens mean time to remediation (MTTR) and empowers teams to act with confidence.

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report
Close

Subscribe to Threat Center RSS

Copy/paste the link below into your preferred RSS reader or follow these instructions to subscribe to Slack alerts.

Open RSS feedSlack setup instructions

Close

Get Real-Time CVE Alerts to Your Email

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge