budibase: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
CVE-2026-72856 is a high-severity weak password recovery mechanism for forgotten password vulnerability in budibase, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 3.40.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating budibase to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.47% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update budibase to 3.40.0 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 8.6 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.1 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
Official description
Budibase versions before 3.40.0 contain an authorization/authentication bypass in the PUT /api/global/users/tenant/owner (changeTenantOwnerEmail) endpoint. On self-hosted instances (SELF_HOSTED or DISABLE_ACCOUNT_PORTAL set), the cloudRestricted middleware is a no-op and the route is protected only by a general authentication check, so any authenticated user — including a lowest-privilege BASIC app user — can reassign the tenant account-holder (top-privilege admin) email to an attacker-controlled address. The attacker can then use the public password-reset flow to take over the admin account, leading to full administrative access.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
The product contains a mechanism for users to recover or change their passwords without knowing the original password, but the mechanism is weak.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Make sure that all input supplied by the user to the password recovery mechanism is thoroughly filtered and validated.
- Do not use standard weak security questions and use several security questions.
- Make sure that there is throttling on the number of incorrect answers to a security question. Disable the password recovery functionality after a certain (small) number of incorrect guesses.
More Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password vulnerabilities (CWE-640)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in budibase
- 7.7 High severity
- 8.5 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.6 High severity
Recent Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.3 Critical severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
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