title: User can bypass approval when invited to Discourse
description: Discourse is an open source discussion platform. Versions prior to 2.7.13 in `stable`, 2.8.0.beta11 in `beta`, and 2.8.0.beta11 in `tests-passed` allow some users to log in to a community before they should be able to do so. A user invited via email to a forum with `must_approve_users` enabled is going to be automatically logged in, bypassing the check that does not allow unapproved users to sign in. They will be able to do everything an approved user can do. If they logout, they cannot log back in. This issue is patched in the `stable` version 2.7.13, `beta` version 2.8.0.beta11, and `tests-passed` version 2.8.0.beta11. One may disable invites as a workaround. Administrators can increase `min_trust_level_to_allow_invite` to reduce the attack surface to more trusted users.
problem types: CWE-287: Improper Authentication
affected:
{
product: discourse
vendor: discourse
versions:
status: affected, version: < 2.7.13
status: affected, version: < 2.8.0.beta11
}
metrics:
cvssV3_1: [
attackComplexity: LOW
attackVector: NETWORK
availabilityImpact: NONE
baseScore: 4.3
baseSeverity: MEDIUM
confidentialityImpact: LOW
integrityImpact: NONE
privilegesRequired: LOW
scope: UNCHANGED
userInteraction: NONE
vectorString: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
version: 3.1
]