Bolt CMS versions 3.7.0 and earlier contain a chain of vulnerabilities that together allow an authenticated user to achieve remote code execution. A user with valid credentials can inject arbitrary PHP code into the displayname field of the user profile, which is rendered unsanitized in backend templates. The attacker can then list and rename cached session files via the /async/browse/cache/.sessions and /async/folder/rename endpoints. By renaming a .session file to a path under the publicly accessible /files/ directory with a .php extension, the attacker can turn the injected code into an executable web shell. Finally, the attacker triggers the payload via a crafted HTTP GET request to the rogue file. NOTE: The vendor announced that Bolt 3 reached end-of-life after 31 December 2021.
Fix
Nothing published yet: no patch, vendor advisory or mitigation reference on NVD, no vendor advisory in the News for this CVE, not in CISA's KEV, no fixed package version. BaselineWatch does not guess at one.
Public exploits 1
- Bolt CMS 3.7.0 - Authenticated Remote Code Execution (exploit module) Metasploit · verified · 2020-05-07
Each line links to the index that lists it, never to exploit code. Exploit-DB's "verified" and a Metasploit rank of good or better count as verified; a PoC-in-GitHub entry is a repository's claim.
Change history 1
- First seenCVSS 7.5 · boltcmsNVD modified 2026-10-08 16:16
Affected (CPE criteria) 1
cpe:2.3:a:boltcms:bolt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
References 6
- https://boltcms.io/newsitem/major-announcements-bolt-3-eol-bolt-4-2-5-0-releases Release Notes
- https://github.com/bolt/bolt Product
- https://github.com/bolt/bolt/releases/tag/3.7.1 Release Notes
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/webapp/bolt_authenticated_rce.rb Exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48296 Exploit, VDB Entry
- https://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/unix/webapp/bolt_authenticated_rce/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory