CVE-2016-8869

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2022-05-17. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 97%
  • Public exploit code is available (Metasploit, epss top5pct, epss high, public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 97%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: Metasploit · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The register method in the UsersModelRegistration class in controllers/user.php in the Users component in Joomla! before 3.6.4 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by leveraging incorrect use of unfiltered data when registering on a site.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(medium)
EG Risk
88(Track*)
EG Risk 88/100SSVC: Track*

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation97% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Watch closely — could escalate to Attend.
EPSS PROB
97%
EPSS %ILE
100%
KEV
Not listed

Published

November 4, 2016

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Sep 22, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Upstream fix merged — awaiting tagged release. Sources: github_commit.
generic

CVE-2016-8869 - PSIRT.COM

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93883
generic

Joomla Account Creation and Privilege Escalation | Metasploit Module

http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/joomla_registration_privesc
generic🟡 PoC Available

Joomla! 3.4.4 < 3.6.4 - Account Creation / Privilege Escalation - PHP webapps Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40637/
github_commit

commit bae1d43938c8 (joomla/joomla-cms)

Fix landed in joomla/joomla-cms commit bae1d43938c8 — awaiting tagged release

https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/commit/bae1d43938c878480cfd73671e4945211538fdcf
generic

[20161002] - Core - Elevated Privileges

https://developer.joomla.org/security-centre/660-20161002-core-elevated-privileges.html
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Details on the Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Joomla

https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/10/details-on-the-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-joomla.html
generic
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037108
generic

Medium

https://medium.com/%40showthread/joomla-3-6-4-account-creation-elevated-privileges-write-up-and-exploit-965d8fb46fa2#.rq4qh1v4r

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 2× in last 7d / 9× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-09-24 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-23 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-09-14 09:20 UTCOSV refresh
  4. 2026-09-11 09:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-09-01 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-09-01 03:31 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-08-28 21:35 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-08-27 14:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-08-26 14:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-08-26 10:32 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-08-19 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-08-15 01:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-08-10 00:09 UTCOSV refresh
  14. 2026-08-05 19:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-25 00:41 UTCOSV refresh
  16. 2026-07-23 01:24 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-07-22 22:04 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-08 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-07 19:42 UTCOSV refresh
  21. 2026-07-05 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 26 more
  1. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-19 07:25 UTCOSV refresh
  3. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-05-30 17:53 UTCOSV refresh
  10. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-05-24 16:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-05-20 07:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-05-20 03:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-05-19 22:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-05-19 18:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-05-19 13:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-05-19 09:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-05-19 04:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-05-19 00:35 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-05-19 00:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(3 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (1 GitHub PoC) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCrustyJ4ck/JoomlaCVE20168869
    First seen Nov 10, 2016

    Exploit for Joomla 3.4.4 - 3.6.4 (CVE-2016-8869 and CVE-2016-8870)

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-40637
    First seen Oct 27, 2016

    Joomla! 3.4.4 < 3.6.4 - Account Creation / Privilege Escalation

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitauxiliary/admin/http/joomla_registration_privesc✓ verified
    First seen Oct 25, 2016

    Joomla Account Creation and Privilege Escalation

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2016-8869?
CVE-2016-8869 is a critical vulnerability published on November 4, 2016. The register method in the UsersModelRegistration class in controllers/user.php in the Users component in Joomla! before 3.6.4 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by leveraging incorrect use of unfiltered data when registering on a site.
When was CVE-2016-8869 disclosed?
CVE-2016-8869 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on November 4, 2016, with the most recent update on June 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-8869 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-8869 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 97% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 0.1% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-8869?
CVE-2016-8869 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2016-8869?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2016-8869, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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