CVE-2026-41930: Vvveb Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-41930 Overview

CVE-2026-41930 is a hard-coded credentials vulnerability [CWE-306] in Vvveb, an open-source content management and e-commerce platform. The flaw resides in the docker-compose-apache.yaml configuration shipped with versions before 1.0.8.2. The file pre-configures a bundled phpMyAdmin container with static database credentials. Unauthenticated network attackers can connect directly to the exposed phpMyAdmin port and obtain full read and write access to the Vvveb database. Exposed data includes administrator password hashes, customer personally identifiable information (PII), and order records.

Critical Impact

Network attackers can reach the bundled phpMyAdmin instance with pre-configured credentials, achieving full database compromise, administrator account takeover, and customer PII exfiltration without authentication.

Affected Products

• Vvveb versions before 1.0.8.2
• Vvveb deployments using the shipped docker-compose-apache.yaml
• Bundled phpMyAdmin container exposed via the default Docker Compose stack

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-05-06 - CVE-2026-41930 published to NVD
• 2026-05-06 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-41930

Vulnerability Analysis

The Vvveb project distributes a Docker Compose file that orchestrates the application alongside a MySQL database and a phpMyAdmin administration container. The docker-compose-apache.yaml manifest embeds static database credentials and exposes the phpMyAdmin service on a published port. Any operator who deploys the stack without modifying the manifest inherits identical credentials across every installation. An attacker who can reach the published phpMyAdmin port supplies the publicly known username and password and authenticates immediately. From phpMyAdmin, the attacker executes arbitrary SQL against the Vvveb schema.

The consequences extend beyond data theft. Administrator password hashes can be cracked offline or replaced with attacker-controlled values, leading directly to platform takeover. Order records, customer addresses, and payment metadata can be exfiltrated or tampered with. Because the credentials are committed to a public repository, exploitation requires only network reachability to the phpMyAdmin port.

Root Cause

The root cause is the inclusion of fixed credentials in a distributed configuration artifact. The docker-compose-apache.yaml file did not require operators to set values for environment variables such as MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, MYSQL_PASSWORD, or the phpMyAdmin connection settings. Static defaults were used instead, violating the principle that secrets must be unique per deployment.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network. The attacker scans for hosts exposing the phpMyAdmin port published by the Vvveb Compose stack, submits the well-known credentials, and gains a fully authenticated database administration session. No user interaction or prior foothold is required. The vulnerability is described in detail in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-g38h-mr9p-fjmf and the VulnCheck Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-41930

Indicators of Compromise

• Successful phpMyAdmin authentications from external IP addresses against Vvveb hosts.
• Unexpected SELECT queries against the users, customer, or order tables originating from the phpMyAdmin container.
• Modifications to administrator password hash columns in the Vvveb database.
• New or altered MySQL users created outside of normal change windows.

Detection Strategies

• Inventory all Docker hosts running Vvveb and confirm whether the unmodified docker-compose-apache.yaml is in use.
• Search container registries and source repositories for the embedded credential strings published in the pre-1.0.8.2 manifest.
• Review web access logs on the phpMyAdmin container for index.php POST requests carrying the default username.
• Correlate database audit logs with container network flows to identify external sessions reaching MySQL through phpMyAdmin.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable MySQL general query logging on Vvveb databases and forward logs to a central analytics platform.
• Alert on any phpMyAdmin authentication originating from outside the management network.
• Monitor egress traffic from the database container for unusual volumes that may indicate bulk data exfiltration.
• The Singularity Cloud Security suite can provide runtime visibility into container workloads and flag exposed services such as phpMyAdmin published to untrusted networks.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-41930

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Vvveb to version 1.0.8.2 or later, which removes the hard-coded credentials from the Compose manifest.
• Rotate every credential previously configured in docker-compose-apache.yaml, including the MySQL root password and the Vvveb application database password.
• Reset all Vvveb administrator passwords and force re-authentication for active sessions.
• Restrict the phpMyAdmin port so it is not reachable from the public internet, ideally binding it to 127.0.0.1 or an internal management network.

Patch Information

The upstream fix is published in GitHub Release 1.0.8.2. The remediating change is documented in the GitHub Commit f85ca7c, which removes the static credentials from the Apache Compose manifest and requires operators to supply their own values via environment variables.

Workarounds

• Edit docker-compose-apache.yaml to replace every hard-coded password with values sourced from a secrets manager or .env file excluded from version control.
• Remove or comment out the phpMyAdmin service from the Compose stack if it is not required in production.
• Place the Vvveb stack behind a VPN or reverse proxy that enforces authentication before exposing the management interface.
• Audit the database for unauthorized administrator accounts or modified password hashes before returning the system to service.

# Configuration example: rotate credentials and restrict phpMyAdmin exposure
# 1. Upgrade Vvveb
git fetch --tags && git checkout 1.0.8.2

# 2. Provide unique secrets via .env (never commit this file)
cat > .env <<'EOF'
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
MYSQL_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
EOF

# 3. Bind phpMyAdmin to localhost only in docker-compose-apache.yaml
#   ports:
#     - "127.0.0.1:8081:80"

# 4. Recreate the stack with rotated secrets
docker compose -f docker-compose-apache.yaml down
docker compose --env-file .env -f docker-compose-apache.yaml up -d