CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-94540NVD status: Deferred

DesktopSMS: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-94540 is a high-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in DesktopSMS from MrPear, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.7 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected DesktopSMS versions: 1.11.0 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.16% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of DesktopSMS you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
MrPearDesktopSMS1.11.0 and earlierNot stated

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
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
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:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.07.4HighCNA (vulncheck.com)
CVSS 3.17.7HighCNA (vulncheck.com)

Official description

DesktopSMS 1.11.0 by MrPear contains an unauthorized access vulnerability that allows local attackers to transmit SMS, retrieve SMS-derived content, and persist an attacker-selected paired identity by interacting with the application's local service without any pairing confirmation or user interaction. Attackers can exploit the unauthenticated local service through same-device loopback to perform privileged SMS operations using the victim application's permissions.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
  • When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.

More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities

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