How severe is CVE-2021-32648?

CVE-2021-32648 has a CVSS score of 9.1/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-32648?

CVE-2021-32648 affects the following packages: october/system (Packagist), october/system (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2021-32648?

Update october/system to version 1.0.472 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-2021-32648 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 4 known exploit references for CVE-2021-32648, including 4 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-2021-32648?

CVE-2021-32648 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 93.0%, 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 CVE-2021-32648 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-32648 (October CMS Improper Authentication) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-01-18. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-02-01. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-32648?

CVE-2021-32648 is classified as Improper Authentication (CWE-287). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2021-32648?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2021-32648, 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-2021-32648 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-32648 was published on August 26, 2021 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.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-01-18 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-02-01

🐘 Packagist

CVE-2021-32648

CRITICAL

Account Takeover in Octobercms

Also known asGHSA-mxr5-mc97-63rc

Published

Aug 26, 2021

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

4 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

93.0%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

2 pkgs affected

🐘october/system🐘october/system

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

Description

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affected versions of the october/system package an attacker can request an account password reset and then gain access to the account using a specially crafted request. The issue has been patched in Build 472 and v1.1.5.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`october/system`	all versions	1.0.472
🐘Packagist	`october/system`	≥ 1.1.1&&< 1.1.5	1.1.5

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.

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affe…

github.comGithubJan 2022

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affe…

github.comAPIJan 2022

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affe…

twitter.comAPIJan 2022

octobercms in a CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. In affe…

cisa.govCISAJan 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-32648 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-32648 across Packagist 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