{"id":"CVE-2026-23760","published":"2026-01-22T15:16:55Z","modified":"2026-08-04T05:16:38Z","title":"SmarterTools SmarterMail Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability","vendor":"SmarterTools","product":"SmarterMail","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"SmarterTools SmarterMail versions prior to build 9511 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the password reset API. The force-reset-password endpoint permits anonymous requests and fails to verify the existing password or a reset token when resetting system administrator accounts. An unauthenticated attacker can supply a target administrator username and a new password to reset the account, resulting in full administrative compromise of the SmarterMail instance. NOTE: SmarterMail system administrator privileges grant the ability to execute operating system commands via built-in management functionality, effectively providing administrative (SYSTEM or root) access on the underlying host.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"SmarterTools SmarterMail, in builds prior to 9511, contains an authentication bypass in the password reset API, where the force-reset-password endpoint does not verify the existing password or a reset token when resetting system administrator accounts. An unauthenticated attacker with network access to the endpoint can reset an administrator account by supplying its username and a new password, gaining full administrative control of the SmarterMail instance and, through its built-in management functionality, the ability to run operating system commands on the underlying host.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T06:56:14Z"},"cvss":{"score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.96432,"percentile":0.99881,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2026-01-26","dueDate":"2026-02-16","ransomware":true,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://www.smartertools.com/smartermail/release-notes/current ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23760","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2026-01-22","exploitedFirstSeen":"2026-01-22","ransomware":true,"evidence":[{"url":"https://labs.watchtowr.com/attackers-with-decompilers-strike-again-smartertools-smartermail-wt-2026-0001-auth-bypass/","date":"2026-01-22"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23760","date":"2026-01-22"},{"url":"https://www.huntress.com/blog/smartermail-account-takeover-leading-to-rce","date":"2026-01-22"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2026-01-25&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2026-23760","date":"2026-01-25"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2026-01-26&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2026-23760","date":"2026-01-26"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2026-01-26"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2026-01-27&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2026-23760","date":"2026-01-27"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2026-02-02&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2026-23760","date":"2026-02-02"},{"url":"https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2026-23760","date":"2026-02-02"},{"url":"https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/statistics/honeypot/vulnerability/map/?day=2026-02-03&host_type=src&vulnerability=cve-2026-23760","date":"2026-02-03"}],"evidenceTotal":49,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 31, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae4aefab0c2191cecd41862","created":"2026-10-30"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-288","name":"Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel"}],"references":[{"url":"https://code-white.com/public-vulnerability-list/#authenticationserviceforceresetpassword-missing-authentication-in-smartermail","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://labs.watchtowr.com/attackers-with-decompilers-strike-again-smartertools-smartermail-wt-2026-0001-auth-bypass/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.smartertools.com/smartermail/release-notes/current","tags":["Release Notes"]},{"url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/smartertools-smartermail-authentication-bypass-via-password-reset-api","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-23760","tags":["US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://www.huntress.com/blog/smartermail-account-takeover-leading-to-rce","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: Unauthenticated network exploitation of public-facing password reset endpoint","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"An unauthenticated attacker can supply a target administrator username and a new password","start":294,"end":383}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: Admin functionality allows OS command execution on host","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"system administrator privileges grant the ability to execute operating system commands","start":497,"end":583}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: Attacker gains valid administrator account access via reset","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"resulting in full administrative compromise of the SmarterMail instance","start":406,"end":477}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2026-4143","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-4143","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2026-01-26","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":2,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2026-01-24","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/MaxMnMl/smartermail-CVE-2026-23760-poc","repos":[{"name":"MaxMnMl/smartermail-CVE-2026-23760-poc","url":"https://github.com/MaxMnMl/smartermail-CVE-2026-23760-poc","stars":8,"created":"2026-01-24"},{"name":"HORKimhab/CVE-2026-0001","url":"https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2026-0001","stars":0,"created":"2026-05-13"}]},"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2026-23760","name":"SmarterTools SmarterMail - Admin Password Reset","severity":"critical","path":"http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-23760.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-23760.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2026-01-24","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/MaxMnMl/smartermail-CVE-2026-23760-poc"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["https://labs.watchtowr.com/attackers-with-decompilers-strike-again-smartertools-smartermail-wt-2026-0001-auth-bypass/","https://www.huntress.com/blog/smartermail-account-takeover-leading-to-rce"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1078","T1059"],"provenance":"ai"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-01-22","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23760","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-01-22","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://labs.watchtowr.com/attackers-with-decompilers-strike-again-smartertools-smartermail-wt-2026-0001-auth-bypass/","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-01-24","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/MaxMnMl/smartermail-CVE-2026-23760-poc","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-01-26","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV (known ransomware use)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-01-26","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-4143","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":2,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":4},"priority":{"score":84.8,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":5.0,"detail":"added 282 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":10.0,"detail":"CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV: Known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.98,"detail":"percentile 0.9988"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"2 NVD references tagged Exploit; 2 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.86,"detail":"base score 9.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}