{"id":"PYSEC-2026-2990","summary":"pyLoad has Stale Session Privilege After Role/Permission Change (Privilege Revocation Bypass)","details":"### Summary\npyLoad caches `role` and `permission` in the session at login and continues to authorize requests using these cached values, even after an admin changes the user's role/permissions in the database.\n\nAs a result, an already logged-in user can keep old (revoked) privileges until logout/session expiry, enabling continued privileged actions.\n\nThis is a core authorization/session-consistency issue and is not resolved by toggling an optional security feature.\n\n### Details\nThe WebUI auth flow stores authorization state in session:\n\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:187-200`\n  - `set_session(...)` writes:\n    - `\"role\": user_info[\"role\"]`\n    - `\"perms\": user_info[\"permission\"]`\n\nAuthorization checks later trust cached session values:\n\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:134-151`\n  - `parse_permissions(...)` reads `session.get(\"role\")` / `session.get(\"perms\")`\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:225-230`\n  - `is_authenticated(...)` only verifies `authenticated` and `api.user_exists(user)` (existence), not fresh role/permission\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:267-275`\n  - `login_required(...)` uses `parse_permissions(s)` for allow/deny decisions\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:356-365`\n  - API session auth path also trusts `s[\"role\"]` and `s[\"perms\"]`\n\nRole/permission updates are written to DB but active sessions are not invalidated/refreshed:\n\n- `src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py:389-434`\n  - `update_users(...)` calls `api.set_user_permission(...)` and returns\n- `src/pyload/core/api/__init__.py:1643-1645`\n  - `set_user_permission(...)` updates DB role/permission only\n\nDefault exposure window is long:\n\n- `src/pyload/core/config/default.cfg:47`\n  - `session_lifetime = 44640` minutes (~31 days)\n\nTherefore, privilege revocation is not enforced immediately for active sessions.\n\nNote on duplicates:\n- This appears distinct from CVE-2023-0227 (session validity after **user deletion**) because this report is about stale authorization after **role/permission changes** while the user still exists.\n\n### PoC\n\n```python\n#!/usr/bin/env python3\n\"\"\"\nRepro: stale session privilege after role/permission changes.\n\nThis PoC is source-based and leaves no persistent state.\nIt validates that:\n1) Role/permission are cached into session at login.\n2) Authorization checks read role/permission from session, not fresh DB values.\n3) User updates write DB permission/role without invalidating active sessions.\n4) Default session lifetime is long, increasing stale-privilege exposure window.\n\"\"\"\n\nfrom __future__ import annotations\n\nimport pathlib\nimport re\nfrom typing import Iterable\n\n\nROOT = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent / \"pyload\" / \"src\" / \"pyload\"\n\n\ndef read(rel: str) -\u003e str:\n    return (ROOT / rel).read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\")\n\n\ndef has_any(text: str, patterns: Iterable[str]) -\u003e bool:\n    return all(re.search(p, text, re.MULTILINE) for p in patterns)\n\n\ndef main() -\u003e None:\n    helpers = read(\"webui/app/helpers.py\")\n    json_blueprint = read(\"webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py\")\n    api_init = read(\"core/api/__init__.py\")\n    default_cfg = (ROOT / \"core/config/default.cfg\").read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\")\n\n    checks = {\n        \"set_session_caches_role_perms\": has_any(\n            helpers,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+set_session\\\\(',\n                r'\"role\"\\\\s*:\\\\s*user_info\\\\[\"role\"\\\\]',\n                r'\"perms\"\\\\s*:\\\\s*user_info\\\\[\"permission\"\\\\]',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"is_authenticated_only_checks_user_exists\": has_any(\n            helpers,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+is_authenticated\\\\(',\n                r'api\\\\s*=\\\\s*flask\\\\.current_app\\\\.config\\\\[\"PYLOAD_API\"\\\\]',\n                r'return\\\\s+authenticated\\\\s+and\\\\s+api\\\\.user_exists\\\\(user\\\\)',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"parse_permissions_reads_session_cache\": has_any(\n            helpers,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+parse_permissions\\\\(',\n                r'session\\\\.get\\\\(\"role\"\\\\)\\\\s*==\\\\s*Role\\\\.ADMIN',\n                r'session\\\\.get\\\\(\"perms\"\\\\)',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"login_required_uses_parse_permissions_session\": has_any(\n            helpers,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+login_required\\\\(',\n                r'if\\\\s+is_authenticated\\\\(s\\\\):',\n                r'perms\\\\s*=\\\\s*parse_permissions\\\\(s\\\\)',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"api_session_auth_uses_cached_role_perms\": has_any(\n            helpers,\n            [\n                r'if\\\\s+is_authenticated\\\\(s\\\\):',\n                r'\"role\"\\\\s*:\\\\s*s\\\\[\"role\"\\\\]',\n                r'\"permission\"\\\\s*:\\\\s*s\\\\[\"perms\"\\\\]',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"update_users_changes_db_without_session_invalidation\": has_any(\n            json_blueprint,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+update_users\\\\(',\n                r'api\\\\.set_user_permission\\\\(name,\\\\s*data\\\\[\"permission\"\\\\],\\\\s*data\\\\[\"role\"\\\\]\\\\)',\n                r'return\\\\s+jsonify\\\\(True\\\\)',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"set_user_permission_only_updates_db\": has_any(\n            api_init,\n            [\n                r'def\\\\s+set_user_permission\\\\(',\n                r'self\\\\.pyload\\\\.db\\\\.set_permission\\\\(user,\\\\s*permission\\\\)',\n                r'self\\\\.pyload\\\\.db\\\\.set_role\\\\(user,\\\\s*role\\\\)',\n            ],\n        ),\n        \"default_session_lifetime_long\": re.search(\n            r'session_lifetime\\\\s*:\\\\s*\"Session lifetime \\\\(minutes\\\\)\"\\\\s*=\\\\s*44640',\n            default_cfg,\n            re.MULTILINE,\n        )\n        is not None,\n    }\n\n    for name, ok in checks.items():\n        print(f\"{name}={ok}\")\n\n    stale_privilege_repro_success = all(checks.values())\n    print(f\"stale_privilege_repro_success={stale_privilege_repro_success}\")\n\n    # Cleanup: this PoC creates/modifies no runtime/data files.\n    print(\"cleanup_done=True\")\n\n\nif __name__ == \"__main__\":\n    main()\n```\n\n```text\nset_session_caches_role_perms=True\nis_authenticated_only_checks_user_exists=True\nparse_permissions_reads_session_cache=True\nlogin_required_uses_parse_permissions_session=True\napi_session_auth_uses_cached_role_perms=True\nupdate_users_changes_db_without_session_invalidation=True\nset_user_permission_only_updates_db=True\ndefault_session_lifetime_long=True\nstale_privilege_repro_success=True\ncleanup_done=True\n```\n\n### Impact\n- Privilege revocation is not immediate for active sessions.\n- A user can continue using stale, previously granted privileges (including admin) after downgrade/restriction.\n- This can allow continued access to privileged WebUI/API actions until session expiry or manual logout/session reset.","aliases":["CVE-2026-41133","GHSA-66hx-chf7-3332"],"modified":"2026-07-13T16:32:35.333738024Z","published":"2026-07-13T15:02:47.816792Z","references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/pyload/pyload/security/advisories/GHSA-66hx-chf7-3332"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41133"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/pyload/pyload/commit/e95804fb0d06cbb07d2ba380fc494d9ff89b68c1"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/pyload/pyload"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://pypi.org/project/pyload-ng"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-66hx-chf7-3332"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"pyload-ng","ecosystem":"PyPI","purl":"pkg:pypi/pyload-ng"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"0.5.0b3.dev97"}]}],"versions":["0.5.0a5.dev528","0.5.0a5.dev532","0.5.0a5.dev535","0.5.0a5.dev536","0.5.0a5.dev537","0.5.0a5.dev539","0.5.0a5.dev540","0.5.0a5.dev545","0.5.0a5.dev562","0.5.0a5.dev564","0.5.0a5.dev565","0.5.0a6.dev570","0.5.0a6.dev578","0.5.0a6.dev587","0.5.0a7.dev596","0.5.0a8.dev602","0.5.0a9.dev615","0.5.0a9.dev629","0.5.0a9.dev632","0.5.0a9.dev641","0.5.0a9.dev643","0.5.0a9.dev655","0.5.0a9.dev806","0.5.0b1.dev1","0.5.0b1.dev2","0.5.0b1.dev3","0.5.0b1.dev4","0.5.0b1.dev5","0.5.0b2.dev10","0.5.0b2.dev11","0.5.0b2.dev12","0.5.0b2.dev9","0.5.0b3.dev13","0.5.0b3.dev14","0.5.0b3.dev17","0.5.0b3.dev18","0.5.0b3.dev19","0.5.0b3.dev20","0.5.0b3.dev21","0.5.0b3.dev22","0.5.0b3.dev24","0.5.0b3.dev26","0.5.0b3.dev27","0.5.0b3.dev28","0.5.0b3.dev29","0.5.0b3.dev30","0.5.0b3.dev31","0.5.0b3.dev32","0.5.0b3.dev33","0.5.0b3.dev34","0.5.0b3.dev35","0.5.0b3.dev38","0.5.0b3.dev39","0.5.0b3.dev40","0.5.0b3.dev41","0.5.0b3.dev42","0.5.0b3.dev43","0.5.0b3.dev44","0.5.0b3.dev45","0.5.0b3.dev46","0.5.0b3.dev47","0.5.0b3.dev48","0.5.0b3.dev49","0.5.0b3.dev50","0.5.0b3.dev51","0.5.0b3.dev52","0.5.0b3.dev53","0.5.0b3.dev54","0.5.0b3.dev57","0.5.0b3.dev60","0.5.0b3.dev62","0.5.0b3.dev64","0.5.0b3.dev65","0.5.0b3.dev66","0.5.0b3.dev67","0.5.0b3.dev68","0.5.0b3.dev69","0.5.0b3.dev70","0.5.0b3.dev71","0.5.0b3.dev72","0.5.0b3.dev73","0.5.0b3.dev74","0.5.0b3.dev75","0.5.0b3.dev76","0.5.0b3.dev77","0.5.0b3.dev78","0.5.0b3.dev79","0.5.0b3.dev80","0.5.0b3.dev81","0.5.0b3.dev82","0.5.0b3.dev85","0.5.0b3.dev87","0.5.0b3.dev88","0.5.0b3.dev89","0.5.0b3.dev90","0.5.0b3.dev91","0.5.0b3.dev92","0.5.0b3.dev93","0.5.0b3.dev94","0.5.0b3.dev95","0.5.0b3.dev96","0.5.0b3.dev97"],"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/blob/main/vulns/pyload-ng/PYSEC-2026-2990.yaml"}}],"schema_version":"1.7.5","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"}]}