# CVE-2026-53953: GetSimple CMS: Predictable Password Reset Password Allows Administrator Account Takeover

> Attackers can predict temporary passwords due to weak random number generation, enabling administrator account takeover via brute-force attacks.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vvhx-56q2-gcjq

## What is CVE-2026-53953?

CVE-2026-53953 is a critical vulnerability in GetSimpleCMS-CE, published on 1 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

GetSimple CMS is a content management system (CMS), and GetSimple CMS CE is the community edition of that CMS. In version 3.3.22, the password reset endpoint can be accessed without authentication. When a reset request is submitted for an existing user, the application generates a new temporary password and immediately stores its hash as the user's new password. The temporary password is generated using PHP rand() seeded with microtime(). Because this seed is time-based and has a limited effective search space, an attacker can generate possible reset password candidates. Since the admin login endpoint does not enforce rate limiting or account lockout, these candidates can be tested online until the correct password is found. Successful exploitation may lead to administrator account takeover. At time of publication, there are no publicly available patches.

Weakness: CWE-640 (Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password), CWE-338 (Use of Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG))

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53953?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-53953?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-53953 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-53953 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-53953 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53953 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53953 is a critical vulnerability in GetSimpleCMS-CE, published on 1 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-53953 exists.

Affected product: GetSimpleCMS-CE. 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-2026-53953/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53953/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53953
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53953
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53953

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53953/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.