CVE-2023-25156: Kiwi TCMS has no protection against brute-force attacks on login page

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.9% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-02-15 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-770

Description

Kiwi TCMS, an open source test management system, does not impose rate limits in versions prior to 12.0. This makes it easier to attempt brute-force attacks against the login page. Users should upgrade to v12.0 or later to receive a patch. As a workaround, users may install and configure a rate-limiting proxy in front of Kiwi TCMS.

Affected products

kiwitcms Kiwi: before 12.0 — fixed in 12.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: kiwitcms Kiwi 12.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/commit/0ed213fa0ddb7a6dc77e3c3b99e8fc90ccdaf46f
https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/security/advisories/GHSA-7968-h4m4-ghm9
https://huntr.dev/bounties/2b1a9be9-45e9-490b-8de0-26a492e79795/
https://kiwitcms.org/blog/kiwi-tcms-team/2023/02/15/kiwi-tcms-120/
https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/commit/0ed213fa0ddb7a6dc77e3c3b99e8fc90ccdaf46f
https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi/security/advisories/GHSA-7968-h4m4-ghm9
https://huntr.dev/bounties/2b1a9be9-45e9-490b-8de0-26a492e79795/
https://kiwitcms.org/blog/kiwi-tcms-team/2023/02/15/kiwi-tcms-120/

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