CVE-2024-53991

HIGH
Published Dec 19, 2024 Modified Aug 26, 2025 CWE-200

Description

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. This vulnerability only impacts Discourse instances configured to use `FileStore::LocalStore` which means uploads and backups are stored locally on disk. If an attacker knows the name of the Discourse backup file, the attacker can trick nginx into sending the Discourse backup file with a well crafted request. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade can either 1. Download all local backups on to another storage device, disable the `enable_backups` site setting and delete all backups until the site has been upgraded to pull in the fix. Or 2. Change the `backup_location` site setting to `s3` so that backups are stored and downloaded directly from S3.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-200 CWE-200

Affected Products

Vendor Product
discourse discourse
discourse discourse
discourse discourse
discourse discourse
discourse discourse

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53991? +
Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. This vulnerability only impacts Discourse instances configured to use `FileStore::LocalStore` which means uploads and backups are stored locally on disk. If an attacker knows the name of the Discourse backup file, the attacker can trick nginx into sending the Discourse backup file with a well crafted request. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade can either 1. Download all local backups on to another storage device, disable the `enable_backups` site setting and delete all backups until the site has been upgraded to pull in the fix. Or 2. Change the `backup_location` site setting to `s3` so that backups are stored and downloaded directly from S3. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2024-53991? +
CVE-2024-53991 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.
What products are affected by CVE-2024-53991? +
CVE-2024-53991 affects products from discourse, specifically: discourse. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-53991? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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