CVE-2025-27580
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in NIH BRICS allows unauthenticated users with a Common Access Card to generate predictable authentication tokens and escalate privileges to compromise any account, including administrators. It affects all NIH BRICS deployments through version 14.0.0-67 that use predictable token generation.
💻 Affected Systems
- NIH BRICS (Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System)
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise where attackers gain administrative access, steal sensitive biomedical research data, modify or delete critical information, and potentially pivot to other systems.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to user accounts, privilege escalation to administrative roles, and potential data exfiltration from the biomedical research system.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, monitoring, and access controls prevent exploitation attempts from reaching vulnerable systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires a Common Access Card (CAC) but no authentication to the BRICS system. The predictable token generation makes exploitation straightforward.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://brics.cit.nih.gov
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
Check the NIH BRICS website and GitHub repository for security updates. Monitor for patches addressing CVE-2025-27580.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
allRestrict network access to BRICS systems to only trusted networks and users
Enhanced Monitoring
allImplement strict monitoring for authentication attempts and privilege escalation activities
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate BRICS systems from untrusted networks
- Deploy web application firewall rules to detect and block exploitation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check BRICS version. If running version 14.0.0-67 or earlier, the system is vulnerable. Review authentication logs for unusual token generation patterns.Check Version:
Check BRICS web interface or configuration files for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify installation of patched version (when available) and test that token generation no longer follows predictable patterns based on username, time, and fixed string.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful login with predictable token patterns
- Unauthorized privilege escalation events
- Authentication from unexpected IP addresses or CAC cards
Network Indicators:
- Unusual authentication traffic patterns
- Requests attempting to generate or use predictable tokens
SIEM Query:
Authentication logs where token generation follows pattern: username + timestamp + '7Dl9#dj-'🔗 References
- https://brics.cit.nih.gov
- https://bugculture.io/CVE-2025-27580/
- https://github.com/RoseHacks/Vulnerability.Research/blob/main/CVE-2025-27580/README.md
- https://github.com/brics-dev/brics
- https://github.com/brics-dev/brics/blob/26bc6bb627a9a60e6c6a8a8c29735ae98c2e2679/core/src/main/java/gov/nih/tbi/CoreConstants.java#L38
- https://github.com/brics-dev/brics/blob/26bc6bb627a9a60e6c6a8a8c29735ae98c2e2679/service/src/main/java/gov/nih/tbi/account/service/complex/AccountManagerImpl.java#L725-L732
