GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-6rvj-qwjf-3m4q Vikunja: Every /api/v2 pre-auth endpoint is unthrottled on a stock install while its /api/v1 twin is rate limited
HIGH
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-91972
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- code.vikunja.io/api
- Severity
- High
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Weaknesses
- CWE-307
- Reviewed
- 2026-10-09
Affected packages
• Go code.vikunja.io/api: < 2.6.0 → fixed in 2.6.0
Description
Summary
`registerAPIRoutesV2` never applies the unconditional pre-auth rate-limit floor (`unauthRateLimit()`) to the v2 public routes — it passes that limiter only to `/api/v2/ws` — and otherwise relies on `setupRateLimit`, which registers nothing when `ratelimit.enabled` is false (the default). So on a stock install every v2 pre-auth endpoint (login, register, password-reset token, oauth token) is unthrottled, while its v1 twin is throttled.
Details
`unauthRateLimit()` -> `perMinuteIPRateLimit("noauth", RateLimitNoAuthRoutesLimit)` (`pkg/routes/rate_limit.go`, ~lines 100-118) is an unconditional per-IP floor (default 10/60s) that deliberately ignores `RateLimitEnabled`, which is why v1's pre-auth routes are throttled even with the global limiter off. v1 applies it: `ur := a.Group(""); ur.Use(unauthRateLimit())` (`pkg/routes/routes.go` ~line 459). `registerAPIRoutesV2` (~lines 405-431) passes the `unauthRateLimit()` instance only to `/api/v2/ws`; its auth routes get only `setupRateLimit(a, ...)`, which is config-gated and registers nothing by default.
PoC (verified at runtime against v2.5.0)
```
POST /api/v1/login x25 -> 429 from attempt 5
POST /api/v2/login x25 -> 403 x25, 429 x0
POST /api/v1/user/password/token -> 429 (throttled)
POST /api/v2/user/password/token x20 -> 404 x20, 429 x0
```
Request bodies are byte-identical across versions (shared `user.Login` / `user.PasswordTokenRequest`). Both v2 endpoints reach their handlers (403/404, not route-404), so the comparison is valid.
Impact
The pre-auth rate-limit floor — the instance's only default anti-brute-force / anti-abuse control — is absent on all v2 public endpoints. Enables unbounded credential guessing, account-enumeration probing, and password-reset flooding on a default install. Reported as an authentication-control bypass, not a DoS.
Fix
Apply `unauthRateLimit()` to the v2 public route group, matching v1.
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-91972 Vikunja versions before 2.6.0 fail to apply rate limiting to /api/v2 public authentication endpoints including login, register,… vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-307 Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts weakness
References
- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/security/advisories/GHSA-6rvj-qwjf-3m4q web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-91972 advisory
- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja package
- https://github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja/releases/tag/v2.6.0 web
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vikunja-before-2.6.0-authentication-bypass-via-unthrottled-api web