Threats / SmarterTools / CVE-2026-23760
CVE-2026-23760
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
SmarterTools SmarterMail vulnerability
SmarterMail password reset API allows unauthenticated attackers to reset administrator accounts without verification, enabling full administrative compromise.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
An unauthenticated attacker can bypass authentication by directly calling the force-reset-password endpoint with a target administrator username and new password, gaining complete control of the SmarterMail instance without requiring existing credentials or a valid reset token.
CISA KEV Yes · 2026-01-265Ransomware use Flagged5EPSS 0.96268 (verify live)6Exploit Public PoC7CVSS 9.33CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
102 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-01-26), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96268 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.3 (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) · Affected: SmarterTools, SmarterMail. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 4.0, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-288 Auth Bypass via Alternate Path — weakness family: Authentication.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 4 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a public proof-of-concept / detection template). Catalog entries: nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I identify the force-reset-password endpoint and craft an anonymous request targeting a system administrator account with a new password of my choosing.
Business
Administrative access is compromised without detection or credential compromise, exposing all user data, email content, and system configuration to the attacker.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I reset the primary administrator account and establish persistent access to the mail server infrastructure.
Business
The organization loses control of its email system and cannot audit or revoke my access, enabling data exfiltration and service disruption.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I use administrative privileges to deploy ransomware, encrypt mailboxes, and demand payment for recovery.
Business
Email services become unavailable, business communications halt, and the organization faces financial extortion and potential regulatory penalties for data loss.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by VulnCheckCNA
Credited with finding itPiotr Bazydlo & Sina Kheirkhah of watchTowrfinderMarkus Wulftange of CODE WHITE GmbHfinder