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CVE-2026-100501 – Authentication Brute-Force / Admin Takeover – Flame ≤ 2.4.0

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Summary

CVE-2026-100501 is an improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts vulnerability (CWE-307) affecting the Flame self-hosted startpage/dashboard application, versions through 2.4.0. The POST /api/auth login endpoint accepts an unlimited number of password guesses with no rate limiting, attempt counters, lockouts, or response delays, allowing an unauthenticated network attacker to brute-force the administrator password. The issue carries a CVSS score of 8.3.

Technical details

  • Root cause: The login route (routes/auth.js) and its controller compare submitted passwords against the single configured admin password with no throttling, counter, or delay mechanism applied to repeated failed attempts.
  • Trigger conditions: An attacker sends repeated POST /api/auth requests with different password guesses; the endpoint processes each attempt identically regardless of prior failures.
  • Attack vector: Network-based, requires no prior authentication and no user interaction; the attacker only needs network access to the exposed Flame instance’s login endpoint.
  • Impact: Successful brute-forcing yields full administrator access, allowing the attacker to modify the application’s configuration, including managed applications, bookmarks, and other dashboard settings.

Affected software

  • Flame (pawelmalak/flame), versions 0 through 2.4.0

Severity

  • CVSS v4.0 Base Score: 8.3 (High)
  • Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Check for and apply a Flame release newer than 2.4.0 that introduces login rate limiting or account lockout; at the time of publication no official patched version has been confirmed, so monitor the project’s repository and advisories for a fix.
  • If no patch is available:
    • Restrict network exposure of the Flame instance’s login endpoint (e.g., place it behind a VPN, reverse proxy, or IP allowlist) rather than exposing it directly to the internet.
    • Deploy a web application firewall or reverse proxy with rate limiting in front of POST /api/auth to throttle repeated authentication attempts.
    • Enforce a strong, high-entropy administrator password to raise the cost of brute-force attempts.
    • Monitor logs for repeated failed authentication attempts against the login endpoint and alert on anomalous volumes.

References

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