VulnerabilityPublished 16 Jun 2024Updated 20 Aug 2024

CVE-2024-34451: Ghost · Weak Authentication

Affects GhostSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.1 Critical : upgrade to 5.85.2 as a priority.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.1Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 55% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.85.2

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Jun 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade tryghost/Ghost to 5.85.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubtryghost/Ghost`pkg:github/tryghost/Ghost`Other threats	Affected <5.85.2	Fixed in 5.85.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Deploy Ghost CMS behind a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx, Apache, or a cloud-based WAF) configured to accept X-Forwarded-For headers only from trusted sources.
Implement strict validation and sanitization of X-Forwarded-For headers at the proxy level to prevent injection of multiple or spoofed headers.
Update Ghost CMS to the latest version once an official patch addressing this vulnerability is released.
Monitor authentication logs for unusual login attempts or patterns indicative of brute-force attacks, especially from multiple IP addresses in rapid succession.
Consider additional multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative accounts to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Limit public exposure of Ghost administrative interfaces by IP whitelisting or VPN access where feasible.
Regularly review and audit reverse proxy and firewall configurations to ensure proper header handling and rate-limiting enforcement.
Educate security and DevOps teams about the risks of trusting client-supplied headers without validation.

Description

Ghost through 5.85.1 allows remote attackers to bypass an authentication rate-limit protection mechanism by using many X-Forwarded-For headers with different values. NOTE: the vendor's position is that Ghost should be installed with a reverse proxy that allows only trusted X-Forwarded-For headers.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-34451 is the potential for unauthorized access to Ghost CMS instances through brute-force or credential stuffing attacks that bypass rate-limiting protections. Successful exploitation compromises the confidentiality and integrity of the CMS, allowing attackers to gain administrative access, modify or delete content, inject malicious code, or steal sensitive user data. This can lead to website defacement, data breaches, loss of user trust, and reputational damage. Since Ghost is a popular open-source blogging and publishing platform used by organizations, media outlets, and individuals worldwide, the vulnerability poses a widespread risk. Attackers can automate large-scale attacks against vulnerable Ghost installations, especially those exposed to the internet without proper reverse proxy configurations. The lack of authentication or user interaction requirements lowers the barrier to exploitation, increasing the threat level. Organizations relying on Ghost for content management must consider this vulnerability a critical risk to their web infrastructure security.

CWE-1390Weak Authentication (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses an authentication mechanism to restrict access to specific users or identities, but the mechanism does not sufficiently prove that the claimed identity is correct.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 04:43 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1390

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats