CVE-2026-61609
Pterodactyl's shared global rate-limit key on login and 2FA checkpoint enables unauthenticated panel-wide authentication lockout (DoS)
Description
Pterodactyl is a free, open-source game server management panel. From 1.7.0 until 1.13.0, the authentication rate limiter defined in RouteServiceProvider::configureRateLimiting() applied a single global bucket to the login and two-factor checkpoint endpoints instead of keying by IP or account: the fall-through Limit::perMinute(10) covering POST /auth/login and POST /auth/login/checkpoint omitted ->by(), so Laravel derived a constant cache key (md5('authentication')) shared by every request. An unauthenticated attacker sending roughly ten requests per minute from a single IP, most cheaply against the checkpoint endpoint (which has no reCAPTCHA), exhausts the shared counter and causes HTTP 429 for every user attempting to log in or complete two-factor authentication, a panel-wide authentication denial of service that also locks out administrators. This issue is fixed in version 1.13.0.
INFO
Published Date :
July 28, 2026, 4:19 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 28, 2026, 4:19 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | MITRE-CVE |
Solution
- Update Pterodactyl to version 1.13.0 or later.
- Apply vendor patches if available.
- Monitor authentication logs for suspicious activity.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-61609.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-61609 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-61609
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-61609 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-61609 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 28, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'pterodactyl', 'product': 'panel', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '>= 1.7.0, < 1.13.0'}]}] Added Description Pterodactyl is a free, open-source game server management panel. From 1.7.0 until 1.13.0, the authentication rate limiter defined in RouteServiceProvider::configureRateLimiting() applied a single global bucket to the login and two-factor checkpoint endpoints instead of keying by IP or account: the fall-through Limit::perMinute(10) covering POST /auth/login and POST /auth/login/checkpoint omitted ->by(), so Laravel derived a constant cache key (md5('authentication')) shared by every request. An unauthenticated attacker sending roughly ten requests per minute from a single IP, most cheaply against the checkpoint endpoint (which has no reCAPTCHA), exhausts the shared counter and causes HTTP 429 for every user attempting to log in or complete two-factor authentication, a panel-wide authentication denial of service that also locks out administrators. This issue is fixed in version 1.13.0. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE CWE-770 Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/98079a01660a61980fe62a72b2c1d48f99c35a5e Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.13.0 Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-xvc3-826v-xf47