ApostropheCMS: User Enumeration via Timing Side Channel in Password Reset Endpoint
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- Fix
- Fixed in 4.29.0
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
- Exploitation: poc
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: partial
Summary
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. Versions 4.28.0 and prior contain a timing side-channel vulnerability in the password reset endpoint (/api/v1/@apostrophecms/login/reset-request) that allows unauthenticated username and email enumeration. When a user is not found, the handler returns after a fixed 2-second artificial delay, but when a valid user is found, it performs a MongoDB update and SMTP email send with no equivalent delay normalization, producing measurably different response times. The endpoint also accepts both username and email via an $or query, and has no rate limiting as the existing checkLoginAttempts throttle only applies to the login flow. This enables automated enumeration of valid accounts for use in credential stuffing or targeted phishing. Only instances that have explicitly enabled the passwordReset option are affected, as it defaults to false. This issue has been fixed in version 4.29.0.
Timeline
- CVE published
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- apostrophecms apostrophe
fixed in 4.29.0
- apostrophenpm
fixed in 4.29.0