CVE-2026-57149

CRITICAL CVSS 9.9 PoC Available
Published: 2026-09-22
Modified: 2026-09-23
Enriched via mock
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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-57149 is a critical vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.9 affecting the target software. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

plone.app.portlets.portlets provides a Plone-specific user interface for plone.portlets, as well as a standard set of portlets that ship with Plone. Starting in version 5.0.0 and prior to versions 5.0.8, 6.0.4, and 7.0.2, the Classic portlet (plone.app.portlets.portlets.classic) used its user-supplied template/macro fields to build a TALES path expression that was then evaluated by the TAL path() helper. Because the value was interpreted as a full TALES expression, a user able to add or edit a Classic portlet could supply a crafted value that escapes simple path traversal and is evaluated as arbitrary code. This is exploitable by any authenticated user who can configure a Classic portlet - which, with the default role map, includes regular users on their personal dashboard. The result is code execution in the context of the Plone process, i.e. a privilege escalation across the trust boundary between an authenticated web user and the server-side process. The problem has been patched in `plone.app.portlets` 5.0.8, 6.0.4, and 7.0.2. Some workarounds are available. Restrict who can manage portlets: remove the `plone.app.portlets.ManageOwnPortlets` permission from untrusted roles, and limit Manage portlets to trusted administrators (usually this is already restricted to the Manager and Site Administrator roles). Where the Classic portlet is not needed, unregister it so it cannot be added. This would need to be done by editing a `portlets.xml` in your own code. One may also effectively disable showing the classic portlet by customising its template. In the Zope Management Interface go to the `portal_view_customizations` tool, locate the `classic.pt` template and click it. Click the Customize button. Remove all text and replace it with `<div>The classic portlet was disabled.</div>`. (This is not a recommended way of customizing a template, but in this case it is quite effective.)

Attack Chain
1
Initial Access

Attacker has low-privilege local access (e.g., via phishing or compromised service account)

2
Privilege Escalation

Attacker exploits CVE-2026-57149 to escalate from low-privilege user to root/SYSTEM/admin

3
Defense Evasion

Elevated privileges used to disable security controls, clear logs, and establish persistence

4
Impact

Full system compromise achieved; attacker can install ransomware, exfiltrate all data, or pivot

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
Privilege Escalation

Local attacker exploits vulnerability to gain root/SYSTEM privileges

T1134 Access Token Manipulation
Privilege Escalation

Elevated token used to impersonate high-privilege accounts

Indicators of Compromise
Type Value Description
user_agent Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0) Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url /api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious> Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params
Remediation
1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.
Quick Facts
CVE ID CVE-2026-57149
CVSS Score 9.9
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published 2026-09-22
Exploited No
CISA KEV No
PoC Available
References
External Resources
NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News