---
id: CVE-2026-118505
title: >-
  AshAuthentication brute_force_strategy does not limit sign-in and request
  actions defined on the resource
summary: >-
  Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts vulnerability in
  team-alembic ash_authentication allows an unauthenticated attacker to guess
  passwords and one-time passwords without limit.


  The password, magic link and OTP stra…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.3
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-307
vendor: team-alembic
product: ash_authentication
affected:
  - ash_authentication >= 5.0.0-rc.4 < 5.0.0-rc.16
  - >-
    team-alembic/ash_authentication >= 800caa0d4a5bee1f28ad427f4c12fab72003a577
    < 7117b5da5b73ee4cdb372e4adfbaff409b527125
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-11-03T17:47:46.366690Z'
published: '2026-11-03'
updated: '2026-11-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-03T17:48:03.096Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-118505'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/team-alembic/ash_authentication/security/advisories/GHSA-55gf-3263-4r39
    label: >-
      `brute_force_strategy` in AshAuthentication does not protect sign-in and
      request actions defined on the resource, allowing unlimited password and
      one-time password guessing
  - url: 'https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-118505.html'
    label: EEF CNA record for CVE-2026-118505
  - url: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-118505'
    label: OSV record EEF-CVE-2026-118505
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/team-alembic/ash_authentication/commit/800caa0d4a5bee1f28ad427f4c12fab72003a577
    label: Introducing commit 800caa0 in team-alembic/ash_authentication
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/team-alembic/ash_authentication/commit/7117b5da5b73ee4cdb372e4adfbaff409b527125
    label: Fix commit 7117b5d in team-alembic/ash_authentication
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00576
epssPercentile: 0.47774
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T20:33:06.330Z'
---

## Overview

Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts vulnerability in team-alembic ash_authentication allows an unauthenticated attacker to guess passwords and one-time passwords without limit.

The password, magic link and OTP strategies enforce brute_force_strategy by adding a preparation only to the actions they generate. When the resource defines one of those actions itself, the strategy uses it as written and nothing checked that it carried the preparation, so the setting compiled and applied no limit. The generators produce exactly this: mix ash_authentication.install writes sign_in_with_password, request_password_reset_token and request_magic_link, mix ash_authentication.upgrade then adds brute_force_strategy to those strategies, and mix ash_authentication.add_strategy.otp writes its OTP actions without the preparation. Separately, with registration_enabled? true the OTP sign-in is a create action, which preparations do not run on, so brute_force_strategy {:preparation, module} never applied to it.

This issue affects ash_authentication: from 5.0.0-rc.4 before 5.0.0-rc.16.

## Affected

- `ash_authentication >= 5.0.0-rc.4 < 5.0.0-rc.16`
- `team-alembic/ash_authentication >= 800caa0d4a5bee1f28ad427f4c12fab72003a577 < 7117b5da5b73ee4cdb372e4adfbaff409b527125`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

### Workarounds

Add the brute-force preparation to each protected action defined on the resource, or remove the action so the strategy generates it. For brute_force_strategy {:audit_log, name} that is prepare {AshAuthentication.AddOn.AuditLog.IdentityBruteForcePreparation, action_name: <action>} on the password sign-in, password reset request, magic link request and OTP request actions, and prepare {AshAuthentication.AddOn.AuditLog.BruteForcePreparation, action_name: <action>} on a read OTP sign-in action. For {:preparation, MyModule} it is prepare MyModule. For OTP with registration_enabled? true, switch to brute_force_strategy :rate_limit.