How severe is CVE-2019-18818?

CVE-2019-18818 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2019-18818?

CVE-2019-18818 affects the following packages: strapi (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2019-18818?

Update strapi to version 3.0.0-beta.17.5 or later. Run your dependency manager's update command and verify no transitive dependencies pin the vulnerable version. Use O3 Security's SCA scanner to confirm the fix is applied across your entire dependency tree.

Is CVE-2019-18818 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 8 known exploit references for CVE-2019-18818, including 2 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 5 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2019-18818?

CVE-2019-18818 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 94.0%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2019-18818?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2019-18818, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2019-18818 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2019-18818 was published on November 7, 2019 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

CVE-2019-18818

CRITICAL

Strapi allows unauthenticated attacker to reset admin password without valid reset token

Also known asGHSA-6xc2-mj39-q599

Published

Nov 7, 2019

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

8 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

94.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

📦strapi

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

strapi before 3.0.0-beta.17.5 mishandles password resets within packages/strapi-admin/controllers/Auth.js and packages/strapi-plugin-users-permissions/controllers/Auth.js.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`strapi`	all versions	3.0.0-beta.17.5

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-50716webappsnodejs

Strapi CMS 3.0.0-beta.17.4 - Set Password (Unauthenticated) (Metasploit)

by WackyH4cker · Feb 8, 2022

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-50237webappsmultiple

Strapi 3.0.0-beta - Set Password (Unauthenticated)

by David Anglada · Aug 30, 2021

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

strapi before 3.0.0-beta.17.5 mishandles password resets within packages/strapi-admin/controllers/Auth.js and packages/strapi-plugin-users-permissions/controllers/Auth.js.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2019-18818 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2019-18818 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

None

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

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

Weaponization

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

strapi

6.7/10

Code-Review9/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection5/10

Assessed Jun 1, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Nov 7, 2019

First exploit

Feb 8, 2022

Last updated

Apr 10, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2019-18818

GHSA-6xc2-mj39-q599

References

Advisorynpmjs.com Advisorygithub.com Advisorygithub.com Evidencepacketstormsecurity.com Evidencepacketstormsecurity.com Evidencepacketstormsecurity.com

Data from OSV.dev, enriched by O3 Security. Refreshed hourly.