apostrophecms apostrophe up to 4.28.x Endpoint reset-request timing discrepancy

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in apostrophecms apostrophe up to 4.28.x. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file /api/v1/@apostrophecms/login/reset-request of the component Endpoint. Executing a manipulation can lead to timing discrepancy. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-33877. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in apostrophecms apostrophe up to 4.28.x. It has been declared as problematic. This vulnerability affects an unknown functionality of the file /api/v1/@apostrophecms/login/reset-request of the component Endpoint. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a timing discrepancy vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-208. Two separate operations in a product require different amounts of time to complete, in a way that is observable to an actor and reveals security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality. CVE summarizes:

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.

The advisory is shared for download at github.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-33877 since 03/24/2026. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1592.

Upgrading to version 4.29.0 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch e266cffd8c0d331a9b05c92bf11616556efcdc77 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• apostrophecms

Name

• apostrophe

Version

• 4.0
• 4.1
• 4.2
• 4.3
• 4.4
• 4.5
• 4.6
• 4.7
• 4.8
• 4.9
• 4.10
• 4.11
• 4.12
• 4.13
• 4.14
• 4.15
• 4.16
• 4.17
• 4.18
• 4.19
• 4.20
• 4.21
• 4.22
• 4.23
• 4.24
• 4.25
• 4.26
• 4.27
• 4.28

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/apostrophecms/apostrophe/

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