# CVE-2026-37603: pH7Software pH7Builder authentication bypass in admin login

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-37603-improper-restriction-of-excessive-authentication-attempts-in-the  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-22. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-37603 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-09-22

pH7Builder is a social dating CMS platform that protects administrator login with CAPTCHA challenges, failed attempt counters, and IP-based lockouts. An unauthenticated attacker on the network can bypass all three protections by obtaining a fresh session for each login attempt and spoofing the client IP address, enabling password guessing with no application-level rate limiting.

Technologies: [pH7Software pH7Builder](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ph7builder). Vendors: [pH7Software](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/ph7software).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-37603 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-37603 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-37603?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 22 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** pH7Software pH7Builder through 19.2.0 (CVE-2026-37603); through 18.2.0 (CVE-2026-37604).

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-37603?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-37603 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-37603?** Check whether you run pH7Software pH7Builder at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

This is a two-link chain: CVE-2026-37603 stores the CAPTCHA escalation flag in the PHP session, which clients can obtain on demand, removing the challenge; CVE-2026-37604 keys the attempt counter and lockout on a client IP read from request headers, allowing spoofing. Both flaws use deterministic lookups against attacker-supplied keys, rendering the rate-limiting controls ineffective. The vulnerability requires only network access to the admin panel and no prior authentication.

## Affected products

- pH7Software pH7Builder through 19.2.0 (CVE-2026-37603); through 18.2.0 (CVE-2026-37604)

## Timeline

- 2026-09-22: disclosed
- 2026-09-19: other: Advisory published by CyberMap Group

## References

- [https://cybermapgroup.com/en/blog/admin-brute-force-protection-bypass-chain-in-ph7builder](https://cybermapgroup.com/en/blog/admin-brute-force-protection-bypass-chain-in-ph7builder)
- [https://github.com/pH7Software/pH7-Social-Dating-CMS](https://github.com/pH7Software/pH7-Social-Dating-CMS)

## Related threats

- [pH7Builder hard-coded API key in Tool.class.php](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-108905-ph7builder-ph7-social-dating-cms-before-18-6-0-contains-a-hard)
- [pH7Builder information disclosure in API user endpoints](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-108904-ph7builder-ph7-social-dating-cms-before-18-5-0-contains-an)
- [pH7Builder CAPTCHA bypass in form validation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-108903-ph7builder-ph7-social-dating-cms-before-19-3-0-contains-a)
- [pH7Builder path traversal in picture module deletePhoto()](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-108902-ph7builder-ph7-social-dating-cms-before-18-5-0-contains-a-path)
- [pH7Software pH7Builder IP spoofing authentication bypass](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-37604-ph7software-ph7builder-ph7-social-dating-cms-through-18-2-0)