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CVE-2026-97163 – Unauthenticated Remote Code Installation – UP Plugin for Joomla 5.0.0–5.2.0 and 6.0

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Summary

CVE-2026-97163 is a critical, unauthenticated remote code installation vulnerability in the UP plugin (plg_content_up) for Joomla, developed by lomart.fr. An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the plugin’s on-demand "action" download mechanism, causing it to fetch and execute PHP code from a remote repository over a connection with TLS certificate verification disabled. The issue affects the UP plugin’s "mini" package variant and carries the maximum CVSS severity rating.

Technical details

  • Root cause: the UP plugin’s "mini" package (which ships without bundled actions) performs an on-demand download of action code from the maintainer’s GitHub repository the first time an action is used, and unpacks it into plugins/content/up/actions/, where Joomla subsequently loads and executes it.
  • The download request is made with TLS certificate verification disabled, so the destination server’s identity is never validated.
  • The action-installation flow can be triggered by an anonymous, unauthenticated request (via the com_ajax component), with no privilege or user interaction required.
  • Attack vector: network-based; a network-positioned attacker (e.g., via MITM, DNS spoofing, or compromised network path) can intercept the unverified TLS fetch and substitute a malicious archive containing arbitrary PHP code.
  • Impact: substituted code is written to disk and executed by Joomla, resulting in full remote code execution and complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected site.
  • Classified under CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) and CWE-284 (Improper Access Control).

Affected software

  • UP plugin for Joomla (lomart.fr), versions 5.0.0 through 5.2.0
  • UP plugin for Joomla (lomart.fr), versions 6.0.0 through 6.0.29
  • Primarily impacts the "mini" package variant of the plugin, which lacks pre-bundled actions and performs remote downloads

Severity

  • CVSS v4.0 Base Score: 10.0 (Critical)
  • 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

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: upgrade the UP plugin to version 6.1.0 (for the 6.x line) or 5.2.1 (for the 5.x line), both of which restore TLS certificate verification and add authentication restrictions on the action-installation flow.
  • If immediate patching is not possible: prefer the full UP package over the "mini" variant where feasible, since the mini variant is the one that performs the vulnerable remote fetch.
  • Restrict or monitor outbound network connections from production Joomla hosts to reduce the risk of interception/substitution during action downloads.
  • Audit the plugins/content/up/actions/ directory for unexpected or unauthorized PHP files that may indicate prior exploitation.

References

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