CVE-2025-31673
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an incorrect authorization vulnerability in Drupal core that allows forceful browsing (accessing restricted pages without proper permissions). It affects Drupal sites running vulnerable versions, potentially allowing authenticated users to access content they shouldn't have permission to view.
💻 Affected Systems
- Drupal Core
📦 What is this software?
Drupal by Drupal
Drupal by Drupal
Drupal by Drupal
Drupal by Drupal
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Authenticated users could access sensitive administrative pages, user data, or restricted content they shouldn't have permission to view, potentially leading to data exposure or privilege escalation.
Likely Case
Authenticated users with some permissions could access additional restricted content beyond their intended access level, violating the principle of least privilege.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, the impact is limited to minor authorization bypasses that don't compromise core system security.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access and knowledge of restricted URLs. The vulnerability is in authorization logic rather than authentication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 10.3.13, 10.4.3, 11.0.12, or 11.1.3
Vendor Advisory: https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2025-002
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your Drupal site and database. 2. Update Drupal core to the patched version using Composer (composer update drupal/core-recommended --with-dependencies) or the Drupal UI. 3. Clear all caches (drush cr or via UI). 4. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Temporary Access Restriction
allImplement additional access checks in custom modules or temporarily restrict access to sensitive paths via .htaccess or web server configuration.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to limit access to Drupal admin interfaces
- Enhance logging and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to restricted paths
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Drupal version via admin/reports/status or drush status. If version falls within affected ranges, the site is vulnerable.Check Version:
drush status | grep 'Drupal version' or check /admin/reports/status in UIVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify the version is 10.3.13+, 10.4.3+, 11.0.12+, or 11.1.3+. Test access to previously restricted pages with low-privilege users.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple 403/access denied errors from same authenticated user
- Unusual access patterns to admin or restricted paths
Network Indicators:
- Repeated requests to known restricted endpoints from authenticated sessions
SIEM Query:
source="drupal_access_log" AND (status=403 OR path CONTAINS "/admin/") | stats count by user, path