Answer in brief
CVE-2026-54593 records a High severity missing auth vulnerability in Pterodactyl's improper JWT scoping allows subuser to upload files when not explicitly granted `file.create` permissions. The source record does not mark it as known exploited. 2 affected packages are mapped in the feed.
Answer in brief
CVE-2026-54593 records a High severity missing auth vulnerability in Pterodactyl's improper JWT scoping allows subuser to upload files when not explicitly granted `file.create` permissions. The source record does not mark it as known exploited. 2 affected packages are mapped in the feed.
Update pterodactyl/panel to 1.12.3; github.com/pterodactyl/wings to 1.12.2 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.
Local check
hol-guard supply-chain scanMissing Auth describes the vulnerability class recorded for this advisory. The current record does not mark CVE-2026-54593 as known exploited; continue to monitor the source for status changes. The feed includes package mappings that can be checked against lockfiles and deployed manifests.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| pterodactyl/panelcomposer | <1.12.3 | 1.12.3 |
| github.com/pterodactyl/wingsgo | <1.12.2 | 1.12.2 |
Fixed versions are reported by the source feed; confirm compatibility before updating.
Reported by GitHub Security Advisories (ghsa).
CVE-2026-54593 records a High severity missing auth vulnerability in Pterodactyl's improper JWT scoping allows subuser to upload files when not explicitly granted `file.create` permissions. The source record does not mark it as known exploited. 2 affected packages are mapped in the feed.
The source record does not mark it as known exploited.
Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for pterodactyl/panel, github.com/pterodactyl/wings.
HOL Guard can help your team review package activity against supported protection paths.
Explore HOL GuardUpdate pterodactyl/panel to 1.12.3; github.com/pterodactyl/wings to 1.12.2 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.
Local check
hol-guard supply-chain scanMissing Auth describes the vulnerability class recorded for this advisory. The current record does not mark CVE-2026-54593 as known exploited; continue to monitor the source for status changes. The feed includes package mappings that can be checked against lockfiles and deployed manifests.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| pterodactyl/panelcomposer | <1.12.3 | 1.12.3 |
| github.com/pterodactyl/wingsgo | <1.12.2 | 1.12.2 |
Fixed versions are reported by the source feed; confirm compatibility before updating.
Reported by GitHub Security Advisories (ghsa).
CVE-2026-54593 records a High severity missing auth vulnerability in Pterodactyl's improper JWT scoping allows subuser to upload files when not explicitly granted `file.create` permissions. The source record does not mark it as known exploited. 2 affected packages are mapped in the feed.
The source record does not mark it as known exploited.
Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for pterodactyl/panel, github.com/pterodactyl/wings.
HOL Guard can help your team review package activity against supported protection paths.
Explore HOL Guard### Summary A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Wings /upload/file endpoint due to insufficient validation of panel-signed JWTs. Wings accepts any valid panel-signed JWT containing `server_uuid`, `user_uuid`, and `unique_id`, regardless of the token’s intended purpose. Because the Panel issues JWTs with these same claims for other lower-privilege operations (such as WebSocket authentication and file download links), an authenticated subuser can reuse one of those tokens to upload arbitrary files without possessing the required `file.create` permission. ### Impact Any subuser with permission to connect to a server's console, download files, or download backups could reuse those tokens to upload arbitrary files to the _same server_. A user that does not have access to a server as a subuser is not able to arbitrarily upload files. ### Details The panel generated JWT tokens for various purposes: - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Services/Backups/DownloadLinkService.php#L33-L36 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/FileUploadController.php#L45 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/WebsocketController.php#L58-L61 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/FileController.php#L82-L85 Though as the actual purpose is not conveyed part of the JWT tokens, this introduces this vulnerability of being able to do non-intended actions due to the expected fields (i.e. `server_uuid`) on most endpoints being the same when parsing it on wings' side. ### PoC Create a new subuser that has the minimal amount of permissions on a server (`websocket.connect`). As that subuser, retrieve a websocket JWT token from the `GET /api/client/servers/[...]/websocket` endpoint (in my case, I manually just make a request under that user's browser session; you can probably just resend the /websocket request in browser console to get a fresh unused token). Using that websocket token, we can abuse this by directly using it in the `/upload/file` endpoint of the wings node instead of using it for websocket authentication: ```python3 import requests wings_url = 'http://[...]:8080' websocket_token = '[...]' res = requests.post(f'{wings_url}/upload/file', params = { 'token': websocket_token, }, files = { 'files': ('file-upload.txt', b'Hello, World!'), }) print(res.status_code, res.content) ``` Observe, that even though our subuser never has permissions outside viewing the console, they are able to write arbitrary files in the server. This pattern happens in a lot of other action, but this is probably the most interesting one.
### Summary A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Wings /upload/file endpoint due to insufficient validation of panel-signed JWTs. Wings accepts any valid panel-signed JWT containing `server_uuid`, `user_uuid`, and `unique_id`, regardless of the token’s intended purpose. Because the Panel issues JWTs with these same claims for other lower-privilege operations (such as WebSocket authentication and file download links), an authenticated subuser can reuse one of those tokens to upload arbitrary files without possessing the required `file.create` permission. ### Impact Any subuser with permission to connect to a server's console, download files, or download backups could reuse those tokens to upload arbitrary files to the _same server_. A user that does not have access to a server as a subuser is not able to arbitrarily upload files. ### Details The panel generated JWT tokens for various purposes: - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Services/Backups/DownloadLinkService.php#L33-L36 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/FileUploadController.php#L45 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/WebsocketController.php#L58-L61 - https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/0f82c105201b192d229f6abd5827e2ee7e672a05/app/Http/Controllers/Api/Client/Servers/FileController.php#L82-L85 Though as the actual purpose is not conveyed part of the JWT tokens, this introduces this vulnerability of being able to do non-intended actions due to the expected fields (i.e. `server_uuid`) on most endpoints being the same when parsing it on wings' side. ### PoC Create a new subuser that has the minimal amount of permissions on a server (`websocket.connect`). As that subuser, retrieve a websocket JWT token from the `GET /api/client/servers/[...]/websocket` endpoint (in my case, I manually just make a request under that user's browser session; you can probably just resend the /websocket request in browser console to get a fresh unused token). Using that websocket token, we can abuse this by directly using it in the `/upload/file` endpoint of the wings node instead of using it for websocket authentication: ```python3 import requests wings_url = 'http://[...]:8080' websocket_token = '[...]' res = requests.post(f'{wings_url}/upload/file', params = { 'token': websocket_token, }, files = { 'files': ('file-upload.txt', b'Hello, World!'), }) print(res.status_code, res.content) ``` Observe, that even though our subuser never has permissions outside viewing the console, they are able to write arbitrary files in the server. This pattern happens in a lot of other action, but this is probably the most interesting one.