What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?
This is an API vulnerability in Redwood's [dbAuth], specifically the dbAuth forgot password feature:
A reset token for any user can be obtained given knowledge of their username or email via the forgot-password API. With the leaked reset token, a malicious user could request to reset a user's password, changing their credentials and gaining access to their account.
To determine if a project has been attacked, we recommend checking logs for suspicious activity; namely, the volume of requests to the forgot-password API using emails that don't exist. Another indication is if users inform you that they can't access their accounts.
If you have question or concerns, reach out via the "For More Information" section below.
The problem has been patched on the v3 and v2 release lines. Users should upgrade to v3.3.1+ or v2.2.5+ respectively.
Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?
We recommend upgrading to the Patch Releases above. If upgrading is not possible, there are several workarounds:
resetToken and resetTokenExpiresAt in the forgotPassword.handler()Users on all release lines can have their forgotPassword.handler() function strip out the sensitive fields manually before returning
handler: (user) => {
// your code to notify/email user of the link to reset their password...
const = { resetToken, resetTokenExpiresAt, ...rest }
return rest
}
yarn patch to manually apply the fixUsers on v3 and v2 can use [yarn patch] to apply the fix if they're using yarn v3. See the dbAuth "forgot-password" Account Takeover Vulnerability high gist for instructions.
Users on v3 can disable the forgot password flow entirely.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
@redwoodjs / api
|
0.38.0 | 2.2.5 |
@redwoodjs / api
|
3.0.0 | 3.3.1 |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.