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pH7Builder EUVDEUVD-2026-84811

| CVE-2026-37603 MEDIUM
Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts (CWE-307)
2026-09-22 mitre GHSA-j8rq-fmrx-q34r
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: mitre
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Reach pH7Builder admin login
  2. Delivery
    Fetch fresh session cookie
  3. Exploit
    Submit login without CAPTCHA challenge
  4. Execution
    Repeat with new session per guess
  5. Impact
    Brute-force admin credentials

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Brute-force prevention, rate limiting
Exploitation Conditions

No special server configuration is required: exploitation targets the default pH7Builder administration login of pH7 Social Dating CMS through 19.2.0, where the CAPTCHA is only rendered after the captcha_admin_enabled flag has been set in the PHP session. The attacker must simply establish a new session (discard cookies and obtain a fresh session ID) before each login POST so the escalation flag is never persisted and the CAPTCHA form element is never built. The practical limiting factor is not the bypass itself - it is unauthenticated and low-complexity - but the outcome: it only enables unlimited password guessing, so a strong or non-guessable admin password, or an external WAF/network-level rate limiter in front of the admin panel, materially blunts real impact.

Impact

This is a moderate, credible priority rather than an inflated high-CVSS finding. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) correctly reflects a remotely reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated flaw, but the C:L/I:L/A:N impact is honest: the bug itself does not compromise data - it only removes the CAPTCHA-based rate limiting that protects the admin login, turning an otherwise-throttled panel into an unlimited brute-force target. Signals are internally consistent: SSVC lists Exploitation=poc (matching the cybermapgroup 'Admin Brute-Force Protection Bypass Chain' writeup) and Automatable=yes, which is plausible because the bypass is a simple fetch-fresh-session-per-attempt loop, but SSVC Technical Impact is only 'partial,' aligning with C:L/I:L. EPSS is low at 0.38% (31st percentile), and there is no CISA KEV listing, so despite public POC/technique material there is no evidence of widespread active exploitation. The real-world severity is heavily conditioned on downstream password strength: the flaw only matters if the admin account has a guessable credential, since it grants unlimited guessing rather than direct access. The CPE string (cpe:2.3:a:n/a:n/a) is junk and the EUVD affected-version list ('n/a n/a') is unusable - affected range comes only from the description ('through 19.2.0'), so version scoping should be verified against the vendor repo.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote unauthenticated attacker scripts the admin login flow so that before each password attempt it requests a fresh session (discarding any prior cookie), which means the captcha_admin_enabled escalation flag is never set and no CAPTCHA is ever rendered. The attacker then runs an unthrottled credential/dictionary attack against the pH7Builder admin panel until a weak admin password is found. A public technique writeup exists (cybermapgroup blog) and SSVC marks exploitation as POC and automatable=yes.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 23, 2026

Remote unauthenticated attackers can perform unlimited password guessing against the pH7Builder (pH7 Social Dating CMS) administration login through version 19.2.0 by bypassing the CAPTCHA, which is only rendered when the PHP session flag captcha_admin_enabled is set. Publicly available exploit code exists, and the bypass chain is detailed in a third-party blog, though the EPSS score is low at 0.38% (31st percentile) and CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N). The practical impact is limited to enabling brute-force attempts; strong admin passwords or an external rate limiter materially reduce risk.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. As compensating controls, deploy an external WAF or reverse proxy rate limiter in front of the admin login endpoint to cap login attempts per IP (e.g., fail2ban, ModSecurity, or cloud WAF rules); note that overly tight thresholds can cause false positives for legitimate admins. Restrict access to the admin panel by IP allowlist if feasible, accepting that this breaks remote administration from dynamic addresses. Enforce strong, unique admin passwords and enable multi-factor authentication if the CMS supports it. Monitor logs for high session churn (many new sessions from the same source) preceding login failures. Once the vendor releases a fixed version beyond 19.2.0, upgrade immediately; check the vendor site and GitHub repository for updates. The third-party analysis at https://cybermapgroup.com/en/blog/admin-brute-force-protection-bypass-chain-in-ph7builder provides technical details useful for detection.

Affected VersionsENISA

n/a n/a

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is an instance of CWE-307 (Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts) in pH7Builder's administration login. The CAPTCHA escalation flag is stored in the PHP session as captcha_admin_enabled, and the CAPTCHA form element is only built when that flag is present. An attacker who discards cookies and establishes a new session before each login POST prevents the flag from persisting, so the CAPTCHA is never shown. This allows unlimited password guessing without any rate limiting or challenge. The affected component is the admin login of pH7Builder (pH7 Social Dating CMS) through version 19.2.0; CPE data is not available (n/a n/a) but the vendor site and GitHub repository are referenced. The bypass chain is documented in a blog at cybermapgroup.com.

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Severity by source

Vendor (mitre) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
vuln.today AI 6.5 MEDIUM

Remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated session reset defeats CAPTCHA (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); impact limited to enabling brute-force so C:L/I:L, no direct availability effect (A:N).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (mitre).

CVSS VectorVendor: mitre

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

2
CVSS changed
Sep 23, 2026 - 17:22 NVD
6.5 (MEDIUM)
CVE Published
Sep 22, 2026 - 00:00 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts in the administration login of pH7Software pH7Builder (pH7 Social Dating CMS) through 19.2.0. The CAPTCHA escalation flag is stored in the PHP session as captcha_admin_enabled and the CAPTCHA form element is only built when that flag is present, so a remote unauthenticated attacker who obtains a new session before each login attempt is never presented with the challenge.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 69% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche open-source PHP social/dating CMS, limited enterprise footprint
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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