Denial of service vulnerability on Password reset page

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2023-25171: 0.92% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 60.21 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Impact Previous versions of Kiwi TCMS do not impose rate limits which 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. Patches Users should upgrade to v12.0 or later. Workarounds Users may install and configure a rate-limiting proxy in front of Kiwi TCMS such as Nginx and/or configure rate limits on their email server when possible. References Disclosed by Ahmed Rabeaa Mosaa

Published by the source

15 Feb 2023, 18:10 UTC

Last modified by the source

10 Sep 2026, 03:49 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:11 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2023-25171

Advisory: Denial of service vulnerability on Password reset page
IDs: CVE-2023-25171, GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2023-25171 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:11 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: kiwitcms 12.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI kiwitcms: affected < 12.0; fixed in 12.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show kiwitcms`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on kiwitcms.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf (OSV record GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf lists affected ranges: PyPI kiwitcms >=0 <12.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-7j9h-3jxf-3vrf lists affected ranges: PyPI kiwitcms >=0 <12.0)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.