CVE-2023-38507Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthenticated brute-force enablement via noncanonical rate-limit keys

Published Sep 15, 2023 · Updated Sep 25, 2024

Improper rate limiting in Strapi before 4.12.1 allows remote attackers to bypass admin login throttling with path variants. The admin rateLimit middleware keys attempts with the literal email, request path, and IP address even though Koa routes case and trailing-slash variants to the same login handler. No credentials are required to rotate path capitalization or append a slash, reset the effective counter, and continue password guessing against administrator accounts.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.96%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper rate limiting in Strapi before 4.12.1 allows remote attackers to bypass admin login throttling with path variants. The admin rateLimit middleware keys attempts with the literal email, request path, and IP address even though Koa routes case and trailing-slash variants to the same login handler. No credentials are required to rotate path capitalization or append a slash, reset the effective counter, and continue password guessing against administrator accounts.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38507
Published
Sep 15, 2023
Updated
Sep 25, 2024
Vendor
Strapi
Product
Strapi
Classifications
CWE-307, CAPEC-49, T1110.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 15, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 25, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 4.12.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Strapi · Strapiversion=< 4.12.1

Published CVSS scores

7.3GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-307Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
CAPEC-49Password Brute Forcing
T1110.001Password Guessing

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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