Vikunja: Plaintext storage of password-reset/email-confirm tokens in database enables account takeover on DB read access

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

Vikunja is an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Versions prior to 2.4.0 store password-reset, email-confirmation, and account-deletion tokens in the `user_tokens` table in plaintext. If an attacker gains read access to the database through a backup leak, misconfigured storage, or SQL-level exposure, they can immediately use pending tokens to take over user accounts without knowing passwords. Version 2.4.0 fixes the issue.

Source published

9 Oct 2026 20:50:35 UTC

Source modified

13 Oct 2026 18:31:03 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vikunja is an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Versions prior to 2.4.0 store password-reset, email-confirmation, and account-deletion tokens in the `user_tokens` table in plaintext. If an attacker gains read access to the database through a backup leak, misconfigured storage, or SQL-level exposure, they can immediately use pending tokens to take over user accounts without knowing passwords. Version 2.4.0 fixes the issue.

Source published

Oct 9, 2026, 8:50:35 PM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

Oct 13, 2026, 6:31:03 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

8 Nov 2026 01:58:44 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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EUVD CVSS 3.1 · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vikunja is an open-source self-hosted task management platform. Versions prior to 2.4.0 store password-reset, email-confirmation, and account-deletion tokens in the `user_tokens` table in plaintext. If an attacker gains read access to the database through a backup leak, misconfigured storage, or SQL-level exposure, they can immediately use pending tokens to take over user accounts without knowing passwords. Version 2.4.0 fixes the issue.

Source published

9 Oct 2026 21:17:05 UTC

Source modified

16 Oct 2026 20:04:29 UTC

Observed here

25 Oct 2026 14:19:28 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

### Summary Vikunja stores password-reset, email-confirmation, and account-deletion tokens in the `user_tokens` table in **plaintext**. If an attacker gains read access to the database through a backup leak, misconfigured storage, or SQL-level exposure, they can immediately use pending tokens to take over user accounts without knowing passwords. ### Details `pkg/user/token.go` — `genToken()` stores the raw random string directly: ```go func genToken(u *User, kind TokenKind) (*Token, error) { tokenStr, err := utils.CryptoRandomString(tokenSize) ... return &Token{ UserID: u.ID, Kind: kind, Token: tokenStr, // stored as-is, no hashing }, nil } ``` Lookup also uses plaintext equality: ```go func getToken(s *xorm.Session, token string, kind TokenKind) (t *Token, err error) { has, err := s.Where("kind = ? AND token = ?", kind, token).Get(t) } ``` Affected token types: - `TokenPasswordReset` (`pkg/user/user_password_reset.go:120`) - `TokenEmailConfirm` (`pkg/user/user_create.go:101`, `pkg/user/update_email.go:88`) - `TokenAccountDeletion` (`pkg/user/delete.go:102`) Note: CalDAV tokens correctly use `generateHashedToken` with bcrypt — the same protection is absent for the above types. ### PoC ```sql -- Attacker with DB read dumps all pending password-reset tokens: SELECT u.email, t.token FROM user_tokens t JOIN users u ON u.id = t.user_id WHERE t.kind = 1; -- Then takes over any account: curl -X POST https://vikunja.example.com/api/v1/user/password/reset \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"token": "<plaintext_from_db>", "new_password": "AttackerPass1!"}' ``` ### Impact Any read access to the database (leaked backup, cloud misconfiguration, secondary SQLi) allows an attacker to take over every user account with a pending reset token within the 24-hour token lifetime. Full account takeover including admin accounts. ### Fix Replace `genToken` with `generateHashedToken` for `TokenPasswordReset`, `TokenEmailConfirm`, and `TokenAccountDeletion`. Update the corresponding lookup to use bcrypt comparison (`bcrypt.CompareHashAndPassword`) rather than direct SQL equality, mirroring the existing CalDAV token implementation in the same file. If possible, please apply for a CVE number when posting.

Source published

9 Oct 2026 20:49:13 UTC

Source modified

19 Oct 2026 21:40:52 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Publisher rating · HIGH

Vikunja: Plaintext storage of password-reset/email-confirm tokens in database enables account takeover on DB read access in code.vikunja.io/api. NOTE: The source advisory for this report contains additional versions that could not be automatically mapped to standard Go module versions. (If this is causing false-positive reports from vulnerability scanners, please suggest an edit to the report.) The additional affected modules and versions are: code.vikunja.io/api before v2.4.0.

Source published

19 Oct 2026 21:08:26 UTC

Source modified

19 Oct 2026 21:31:50 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

OSV · upstream source license applies

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · OSV · upstream source license applies. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.