# CVE-2026-61609: Pterodactyl's shared global rate-limit key on login and 2FA checkpoint enables unauthenticated panel-wide authentication lockout (DoS)

> An unauthenticated attacker can exhaust a shared rate-limit bucket to lock out all users from logging into the Pterodactyl panel.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xvc3-826v-xf47

## What is CVE-2026-61609?

CVE-2026-61609 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in pterodactyl panel, published on 28 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official 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.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-61609?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including pterodactyl/panel.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `pterodactyl/panel` | Packagist | From 1.7.0 | 1.13.0 |
| `pterodactyl/panel` | Packagist | From 1.7.0 | 1.13.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-61609?

Upgrade pterodactyl/panel to 1.13.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-61609 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-61609 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-61609 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-61609 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in pterodactyl panel, published on 28 Jul 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-2026-61609 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- pterodactyl/panel (Packagist): affected from 1.7.0; fixed in 1.13.0
- pterodactyl/panel (Packagist): affected from 1.7.0; fixed in 1.13.0

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-2026-61609/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-61609/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-61609
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-61609
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-61609

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-61609/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.