CVE-2024-46242Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Unauthenticated service interruption via email regex backtracking

Published Jan 7, 2025 · Updated Jul 5, 2026

Regular expression denial of service in CTFd 3.7.3 allows remote attackers to interrupt service via a crafted registration email. The validate_email function applies an unbounded email regular expression to attacker-controlled input, causing excessive backtracking on long crafted strings. Registration must be enabled and remotely reachable; repeated requests can consume application-worker CPU and make the service unresponsive.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.72%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Regular expression denial of service in CTFd 3.7.3 allows remote attackers to interrupt service via a crafted registration email. The validate_email function applies an unbounded email regular expression to attacker-controlled input, causing excessive backtracking on long crafted strings. Registration must be enabled and remotely reachable; repeated requests can consume application-worker CPU and make the service unresponsive.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-46242
Published
Jan 7, 2025
Updated
Jul 5, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-1333, T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 7, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-1333Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo