Vulnerability report

Exploitation attempts observed in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2026-23760

SmarterMail Authentication Bypass

SmarterTools / SmarterMail · affected before 100.0.9511

Watch CVE-2026-23760 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 9.3 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploitation attempts observed in the wild
EPSS
96.4%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2026-23760 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting SmarterTools SmarterMail. SmarterTools SmarterMail versions prior to build 9511 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the password reset API....

Have exploitation attempts been observed?

Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Also reported by third-party sources. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

SmarterTools / SmarterMail affected before 100.0.9511.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

SmarterMail Authentication Bypass

SmarterTools SmarterMail versions prior to build 9511 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the password reset API. The force-reset-password endpoint permits anonymous requests and fails to verify the existing password or a reset token when resetting system administrator accounts.

An unauthenticated attacker can supply a target administrator username and a new password to reset the account, resulting in full administrative compromise of the SmarterMail instance. NOTE: SmarterMail system administrator privileges grant the ability to execute operating system commands via built-in management functionality, effectively providing administrative (SYSTEM or root) access on the underlying host.

SmarterTools Affected
SmarterMail
Before 100.0.9511
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
22 Jan 2026
Exploitation Attempts Reported
01 Jun 2026
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

cisa nuclei_scanner malware

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Evidence of exploitation attempts

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploitation attempts observed in the wild

CVE

Recorded 01 Jun 2026

A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.

Targeted by malware-related exploitation attempts

CVE

Recorded 02 Jun 2026

Exploitation attempts against this vulnerability are associated with malware-related payloads.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 24 Jan 2026

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CVE First 2026-06-01 10:49 UTC
CISA 2026-06-02 14:03 UTC
The Shadowserver 2026-07-13 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-23760.yaml 01 Jun 2026

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v4.0

9.3 Critical

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

EPSS

96.4%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel CWE-288

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v4.0 9.3 Critical

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

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

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

SmarterTools SmarterMail - Admin Password Reset

nuclei · Created Unknown

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts

  1. 00:00 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Shadowserver

    Exploitation attempts reported by an external source

  2. 14:21 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  3. 14:03 UTC

    Targeted by malware-related exploitation attempts

    Malware-related exploitation attempts or payloads reported

  4. 14:03 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  5. 15:34 UTC

    Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  6. 10:49 UTC

    Added to Previdian KEV Feed

    High-confidence, third-party report of exploitation attempts

  7. 14:35 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  8. 18:42 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-23760

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2026-23760",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.3,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.96432,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}