CVE-2019-18818 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-640 vulnerability in strapi. 8 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for strapi — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Strapi allows unauthenticated attacker to reset admin password without valid reset token
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2019-18818 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 394,415 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
strapinpmDescription
Versions of strapi prior to 3.0.0-beta.17.5 are vulnerable to Privilege Escalation. The password reset routes allows an unauthenticated attacker to reset an admin's password without providing a valid password reset token.
Recommendation
Upgrade to version 3.0.0-beta.17.5 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | strapi | all versions | 3.0.0-beta.17.5npm install strapi@3.0.0-beta.17.5 |
Affected Products
strapistrapiResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Strapi CMS 3.0.0-beta.17.4 - Set Password (Unauthenticated) (Metasploit)
by WackyH4cker · Feb 8, 2022
Strapi 3.0.0-beta - Set Password (Unauthenticated)
by David Anglada · Aug 30, 2021
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for strapi, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update strapi to 3.0.0-beta.17.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-18818 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
How to detect CVE-2019-18818
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2019-18818 -u https://target- Template
- strapi CMS <3.0.0-beta.17.5 - Admin Password Reset
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to reset the admin password and gain unauthorized access to the Strapi CMS admin panel.
- Remediation
- Upgrade Strapi CMS to a version higher than 3.0.0-beta.17.5 to mitigate the vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (idealphase), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-18818 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.