Skip to content
Heist/ feed
MediumFix available

Tinyauth: Unauthenticated login attempts can trigger global login lockdown denial of service

Type: advisorySource: OSV1 source record

### Summary Tinyauth's login rate-limit bookkeeping can enter a global lockdown mode when its in-memory login-attempt map reaches 256 distinct identifiers. Because unauthenticated `POST /api/user/login` requests for unknown usernames are recorded in this same map, a remote unauthenticated attacker can submit 257 unique bogus usernames and cause valid credentials for unrelated users to be treated as locked until `auth.loginTimeout` expires. This was confirmed against the stable `v5.0.7` release. With default configuration, `auth.loginTimeout` is 300 seconds and `auth.loginMaxRetries` is 3, so the denial lasts about 5 minutes and can be repeated. ### Details In stable `v5.0.7`, the login endpoint is registered at `internal/controller/user_controller.go:45` and accepts unauthenticated JSON credentials in `loginHandler` at `internal/controller/user_controller.go:50`. Before validating credentials, it calls `controller.auth.IsAccountLocked(req.Username)` at `internal/controller/user_controller.go:65`. When a username does not exist, the login handler records a failed login attempt for the attacker-controlled username with `controller.auth.RecordLoginAttempt(req.Username, false)` at `internal/controller/user_controller.go:83`. Invalid passwords for existing users do the same at `internal/controller/user_controller.go:94`. The rate-limit map has a hard cap of 256 records at `internal/service/auth_service.go:29`. `RecordLoginAttempt` checks `len(auth.loginAttempts) >= MaxLoginAttempt

Announced Source revision 1
Original source ↗

GHSA-9xhm-w3wj-xhqh

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: osv:GHSA-9xhm-w3wj-xhqh

github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
1.0.1-0.20260715123057-dade1e2c8f27

Source reference: /affected/0/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "1.0.1-0.20260715123057-dade1e2c8f27"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/steveiliop56/tinyauth",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-9xhm-w3wj-xhqh/GHSA-9xhm-w3wj-xhqh.json"
    }
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-77561

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

No explicit severity was provided.

Linked CVE context

These ratings describe the referenced vulnerabilities and products. They are not a severity rating for every application using this dependency.

Event
#63924 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
Read the original announcement