Vikunja read-only users can delete project background images via broken object-level authorization in code.vikunja.io/api
Vikunja read-only users can delete project background images via broken object-level authorization in code.vikunja.io/api. NOTE: The source advisory for this report contains additional versions that could not be automatically mapped to standard Go module versions. (If this is causing false-positive reports from vulnerability scanners, please suggest an edit to the report.) The additional affected modules and versions are: code.vikunja.io/api before v2.2.0.
02 / AFFECTED SOFTWARE
Affected packages
03 / CONNECTIONS
Connected vulnerabilities
04 / EVIDENCE
Source records
## Summary The `DELETE /api/v1/projects/:project/background` endpoint checks `CanRead` permission instead of `CanUpdate`, allowing any user with read-only access to a project to permanently delete its background image. ## Details The `RemoveProjectBackground` handler (`pkg/modules/background/handler/background.go`) reuses `checkProjectBackgroundRights`, a helper originally written for the read-only `GetProjectBackground` endpoint. This helper only verifies `CanRead` permission. In contrast, the handler for *setting* a background (`setBackgroundPreparations`) correctly checks `CanUpdate`. As a result, destructive write operations (deleting the background file from storage and clearing the project's `background_file_id` and `background_blur_hash` fields) are gated behind a read-only permission check. ## Impact A user with read-only access to a project — via direct sharing, team membership, link share tokens with read permission, or read-scoped API tokens — can permanently delete the project's background image. The background file is removed from storage and cannot be recovered. This constitutes unauthorized data destruction. ## Reproduction 1. User A creates a project and sets a background image. 2. User A shares the project with User B with **read-only** permission. 3. User B sends: `DELETE /api/v1/projects/{project_id}/background` with a valid auth token. 4. The request succeeds. The background image is permanently deleted. ## References - `pkg/modules/background/handler/background.go` — `RemoveProjectBackground` (line 416), `checkProjectBackgroundRights` (line 304), `setBackgroundPreparations` (line 106) - `pkg/routes/routes.go` line 665 — route registration ## Credits This vulnerability was found using [GitHub Security Lab Taskflows](https://github.com/GitHubSecurityLab/seclab-taskflows).
Vikunja read-only users can delete project background images via broken object-level authorization in code.vikunja.io/api. NOTE: The source advisory for this report contains additional versions that could not be automatically mapped to standard Go module versions. (If this is causing false-positive reports from vulnerability scanners, please suggest an edit to the report.) The additional affected modules and versions are: code.vikunja.io/api before v2.2.0.
Vikunja is an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Starting in version 0.20.2 and prior to version 2.2.0, the `DELETE /api/v1/projects/:project/background` endpoint checks `CanRead` permission instead of `CanUpdate`, allowing any user with read-only access to a project to permanently delete its background image. Version 2.2.0 fixes the issue.
05 / REFERENCES
Further evidence
- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja
- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-564f-wx8x-878h
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33312
- https://vikunja.io/changelog/vikunja-v2.2.0-was-released
- https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/33xxx/CVE-2026-33312.json