CVE-2026-23760

CVE-2026-23760 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in SmarterTools SmarterMail. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on January 26, 2026, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by February 16, 2026. CISA also lists it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns, so it should be prioritised accordingly. SmarterTools has 3 vulnerabilities in the KEV catalog, 3 of them linked to ransomware.

SmarterTools SmarterMail versions prior to build 9511 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the password reset API. The force-reset-password endpoint permits anonymous requests and fails to verify the existing password or a reset token when resetting system administrator accounts. An unauthenticated attacker can supply a target administrator username and a new password to reset the account, resulting in full administrative compromise of the SmarterMail instance. NOTE: SmarterMail system administrator privileges grant the ability to execute operating system commands via built-in management functionality, effectively providing administrative (SYSTEM or root) access on the underlying host.

CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

• https://code-white.com/public-vulnerability-list/#authenticationserviceforceresetpassword-missing-authentication-in-smartermail
• https://labs.watchtowr.com/attackers-with-decompilers-strike-again-smartertools-smartermail-wt-2026-0001-auth-bypass/
• https://www.smartertools.com/smartermail/release-notes/current
• https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/smartertools-smartermail-authentication-bypass-via-password-reset-api
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-23760
• https://www.huntress.com/blog/smartermail-account-takeover-leading-to-rce