CVE-2022-36045 CRITICAL

CVE-2022-36045: Account takeover via cryptographically weak PRNG in NodeBB Forum

Vendor Nodebb
Product NodeBB
Weakness CWE-330 · Insufficient randomness
Published August 31, 2022
Last update April 23, 2025

CVSS base score

9.0/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity High
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

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

What the vulnerability does

01Description

NodeBB Forum Software is powered by Node.js and supports either Redis, MongoDB, or a PostgreSQL database. It utilizes web sockets for instant interactions and real-time notifications. `utils.generateUUID`, a helper function available in essentially all versions of NodeBB (as far back as v1.0.1 and potentially earlier) used a cryptographically insecure Pseudo-random number generator (`Math.random()`), which meant that a specially crafted script combined with multiple invocations of the password reset functionality could enable an attacker to correctly calculate the reset code for an account they do not have access to. This vulnerability impacts all installations of NodeBB. The vulnerability allows for an attacker to take over any account without the involvement of the victim, and as such, the remediation should be applied immediately (either via NodeBB upgrade or cherry-pick of the specific changeset. The vulnerability has been patched in version 2.x and 1.19.x. There is no known workaround, but the patch sets listed above will fully patch the vulnerability.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

August 31, 2022 CVE published
April 23, 2025 Record updated