CVE-2026-71246

MEDIUM
Published Aug 5, 2026 Modified Aug 5, 2026 CWE-918

Description

Pixelfed's SearchController (behind the auth middleware) accepts a URL via its remote-search parameters and fetches it server-side through ActivityPubFetchService, whose validateUrl() only blocks the literal hosts 127.0.0.1, localhost, and ::1 and requires https, without checking the resolved IP against private, internal, or link-local ranges (e.g. 169.254.169.254). Optional DNS validation is disabled by default and, when enabled, only confirms a DNS record exists without filtering by IP range. The fetch response body is returned to the requester only when the Content-Type matches an ActivityPub content type, making this a semi-blind but authenticated SSRF primitive reachable by any logged-in user.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

4.3
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-918 Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-71246? +
Pixelfed's SearchController (behind the auth middleware) accepts a URL via its remote-search parameters and fetches it server-side through ActivityPubFetchService, whose validateUrl() only blocks the literal hosts 127.0.0.1, localhost, and ::1 and requires https, without checking the resolved IP against private, internal, or link-local ranges (e.g. 169.254.169.254). Optional DNS validation is disabled by default and, when enabled, only confirms a DNS record exists without filtering by IP range. The fetch response body is returned to the requester only when the Content-Type matches an ActivityPub content type, making this a semi-blind but authenticated SSRF primitive reachable by any logged-in user. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2026-71246? +
CVE-2026-71246 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.3 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-71246? +
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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