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Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2026-45013

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
88/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. Versions up to and including 4.29.0 have a password reset flow that constructs the reset URL using `req.hostname`, which is derived directly from the attacker-controlled HTTP `Host` header when `apos.baseUrl` is not explicitly configured. An unauthenticated attacker who knows a victim's email address can send a crafted reset request that causes the application to email the victim a reset link pointing to the attacker's domain. When the victim clicks the link, the valid reset token is delivered to the attacker, enabling full account takeover. As of time of publication, no known patched versions are available.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In ApostropheCMS versions up to 4.29.0, the password reset functionality uses req.hostname (derived from the HTTP Host header) to construct reset URLs when apos.baseUrl is not explicitly configured. An unauthenticated attacker knowing a victim's email can send a crafted request with a malicious Host header, causing the application to email the victim a reset link pointing to the attacker's controlled domain. When the victim clicks the link, the valid reset token is sent to the attacker, enabling account takeover.

MitigationExplicitly configure apos.baseUrl in the ApostropheCMS configuration to a trusted domain, preventing the application from using the attacker-controllable req.hostname for password reset URL generation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify ApostropheCMS installation and version
    Locate the project's package.json file and find the 'apostrophe' package version. Run: npm list apostrophe in the project directory, or inspect node_modules/apostrophe/package.json directly.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.29.0 or lower (any version 'up to' 4.29.0).
  2. Locate the ApostropheCMS configuration file
    Find the main configuration file (commonly app.js, app.ts, or data/modules.js in a project). This is where apos.baseUrl would be defined.
    Affected if Unable to locate the main configuration file for the ApostropheCMS instance.
  3. Check whether apos.baseUrl is explicitly configured
    Search the configuration file for 'baseUrl' within the apos options. Look for patterns like apos: { baseUrl: 'https://...'} or data: { apos: { baseUrl: '...' }}. Verify it is set to a specific, trusted domain and not left undefined or null.
    Affected if The baseUrl is not defined, is set to null, is an empty string, or is dynamically derived from req.hostname - leaving the application to use the HTTP Host header for URL generation.

You are affected if ApostropheCMS version is 4.29.0 or lower AND apos.baseUrl is not explicitly set to a trusted domain in your configuration.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Explicitly configure apos.baseUrl in the ApostropheCMS configuration to a trusted domain, preventing the application from using the attacker-controllable req.hostname for password reset URL generation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Locate the ApostropheCMS configuration file (typically `app.js` or a dedicated configuration module)
  2. Add or ensure the `apos.baseUrl` option is explicitly set to your production domain (e.g., `apos: { baseUrl: 'https://yourdomain.com' }`)
  3. Restart the ApostropheCMS application for the configuration change to take effect
  4. Verify that password reset emails now generate links using the configured baseUrl rather than the Host header

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-45013 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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