# CVE-2026-13020: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism in Portal for ArcGIS

> Remote attackers can take over user accounts by exploiting a weak password recovery mechanism in Esri Portal for ArcGIS.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j3v3-cjmx-765g

## What is CVE-2026-13020?

CVE-2026-13020 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Esri Portal for Arcgis, published on 7 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password exists in Esri Portal for ArcGIS versions 12.1 and earlier on Windows, Linux and Kubernetes. A remote, unauthorized attacker may assume ownership of a user’s account by manipulating this mechanism. ArcGIS Administrators should configure an email server with ArcGIS Enterprise to facilitate user self-service password recovery. The ability for an administrator to reset a user’s password remains unchanged.

Weakness: CWE-640 (Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-13020?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Esri Portal for Arcgis.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-13020?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-13020 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-13020 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-13020 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Esri Portal for Arcgis

- [CVE-2024-25693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25693/): Portal for ArcGIS has a directory traversal vulnerability. (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-13019](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13019/): Missing Authentication (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-33518](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33518/): Incorrect privilege assignment in Portal for ArcGIS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-33519](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33519/): Incorrect privilege assignment in Portal for ArcGIS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-2538](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2538/): BUG-000174336 (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-13020 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-13020 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Esri Portal for Arcgis, published on 7 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-13020 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Esri Portal for Arcgis. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13020/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13020/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-13020
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13020
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-13020

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13020/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.