CVE-2023-38492

What it is

Kirby is a content management system. A vulnerability in versions prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6 affects all Kirby sites with user accounts (unless Kirby's API and Panel are disabled in the config). The real-world impact of this vulnerability is limited, however we still recommend to update to one of the patch releases because they also fix more severe vulnerabilities. Kirby's authentication endpoint did not limit the password length. This allowed attackers to provide a password with a length up to the server's maximum request body length. Validating that password against the user's actual password requires hashing the provided password, which requires more CPU and memory resources (and therefore processing time) the longer the provided password gets. This could be abused by an attacker to cause the website to become unresponsive or unavailable. Because Kirby comes with a built-in brute force protection, the impact of this vulnerability is limited to 10 failed logins from each IP address and 10 failed logins for each existing user per hour. The problem has been patched in Kirby 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, and 3.9.6. In all of the mentioned releases, the maintainers have added password length limits in the affected code so that passwords longer than 1000 bytes are immediately blocked, both when setting a password and when logging in.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

1.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2023-07-27 16:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 06:10 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 1.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.3 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2023-07-27 16:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 06:10 UTC

Exploit probability

1.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-770 · Allocation without limits

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Getkirby Kirby < 3.5.8.3
• Getkirby Kirby < 3.6.6.3
• Getkirby Kirby < 3.7.5.2
• Getkirby Kirby < 3.8.4.1
• Getkirby Kirby < 3.9.6

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.3

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Low

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2023-38492.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2023-38492. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

Copy as ticket · More options · Status badge