VulnerabilityPublished 5 Mar 2026Updated 6 Mar 2026

CVE-2025-70948: couch-auth · A Host Header Injection

Affects couch-authSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.3 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.3Critical

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 30% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
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 5 Mar 2026
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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
npm@perfood/couch-auth`pkg:npm/@perfood/couch-auth`Other threats	Affected =0.26.0	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-70948, organizations should immediately implement strict validation and sanitization of the HTTP Host header within their applications, ensuring that only expected and authorized hostnames are accepted. Employing a whitelist approach for allowed Host headers can prevent malicious spoofing. Additionally, developers should avoid relying solely on the Host header for security-sensitive operations like token generation or email link construction. Implementing additional verification steps, such as binding reset tokens to user-specific data or using cryptographically signed tokens, can reduce the risk of token interception. Monitoring and logging suspicious HTTP requests with unusual Host headers can help detect exploitation attempts. Until an official patch is released, consider isolating or disabling the vulnerable mailer component if feasible. Organizations should also keep their dependencies up to date and subscribe to security advisories for @perfood/couch-auth to apply patches promptly once available. Conducting security reviews and penetration testing focused on header injection vulnerabilities is recommended to identify similar issues.

Description

A host header injection vulnerability in the mailer component of @perfood/couch-auth v0.26.0 allows attackers to obtain reset tokens and execute an account takeover via spoofing the HTTP Host header.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-70948 is the compromise of user account security through unauthorized access. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can obtain password reset tokens, which are critical for regaining access to accounts. This leads to a breach of confidentiality, as sensitive tokens are exposed, and a breach of integrity, as attackers can change account credentials and assume user identities. Organizations using the vulnerable @perfood/couch-auth package in their authentication workflows risk widespread account takeovers, potentially leading to data breaches, unauthorized transactions, and reputational damage. The vulnerability could also facilitate lateral movement within compromised environments if attackers gain access to privileged accounts. Since the flaw involves HTTP header manipulation, it can be exploited remotely without requiring user interaction, increasing the attack surface. The absence of patches means organizations remain exposed until mitigations or updates are applied. This vulnerability could affect web applications, SaaS platforms, and any service relying on this authentication component, impacting industries such as finance, healthcare, e-commerce, and technology.

CWE-644Improper Neutralization of HTTP Headers for Scripting Syntax (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes web scripting syntax in HTTP headers that can be used by web browser components that can process raw headers, such as Flash.
Architecture and Design
Perform output validation in order to filter/escape/encode unsafe data that is being passed from the server in an HTTP response header.
Architecture and Design
Disable script execution functionality in the clients' browser.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Content Security Policy (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
Query Parameterization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V14.4.6 (opens in a new tab)
V14.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Mar 2026, 21:30 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-644

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats