CVE-2026-81889: elFinder is an open-source file manager for web, written in JavaScript using jQuery UI.

elFinder is an open-source file manager for web, written in JavaScript using jQuery UI.

elFinder is an open-source file manager for web, written in JavaScript using jQuery UI. Prior to 2.1.70, elFinder URL uploads in php/elFinder.class.php can bypass server-side request forgery protections when PHP cURL is unavailable because validate_address() validates $info['ip'], but get_remote_contents() selects fsock_get_contents(), which connects to $arr['host'] and performs a second DNS resolution. An attacker able to submit a URL upload can use DNS rebinding to have the first resolution return a public address and the connection resolution return a loopback or private address, causing the internal HTTP response body to be stored as an uploaded file and made readable through elFinder. After a successful fetch, get_headers($url, true) separately requests the original hostname without reusing the validated and pinned connection, creating an additional blind server-side request forgery path even when curl_get_contents() is selected. This issue is fixed in version 2.1.70.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by GitHub

What it means for a small business

If your business uses elFinder, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.55%, higher than 45% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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