CVE-2025-41656
📋 TL;DR
This critical vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands with high privileges on affected devices. The issue exists because Node-RED servers lack authentication by default, affecting any system running vulnerable Node-RED configurations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Node-RED
⚠️ 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 allowing attackers to install malware, steal data, pivot to other systems, or render devices unusable.
Likely Case
Attackers gain full control of affected devices to install cryptocurrency miners, ransomware, or use devices as botnet nodes.
If Mitigated
No impact if proper authentication is configured or Node-RED is not exposed to untrusted networks.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation is trivial - attackers simply need to access the Node-RED interface and execute commands through the built-in functionality.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: N/A
Vendor Advisory: https://certvde.com/en/advisories/VDE-2025-045
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Configure authentication in Node-RED settings.js file
2. Set adminAuth property with secure credentials
3. Restrict network access to trusted sources only
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enable Node-RED Authentication
allConfigure authentication in Node-RED settings to require credentials
Edit settings.js and add: adminAuth: {type: "credentials", users: [{username: "admin", password: "$2a$08$...", permissions: "*"}]}
Restrict Network Access
linuxConfigure firewall to only allow trusted IPs to access Node-RED
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 1880 -s TRUSTED_IP -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 1880 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Node-RED entirely if not required
- Place Node-RED behind a reverse proxy with authentication
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Attempt to access Node-RED web interface without authentication. If you can access the editor, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
node-red --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify authentication is required when accessing Node-RED interface and test command execution is blocked without credentials.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthenticated access to /red endpoint
- Unexpected command execution in Node-RED logs
- Multiple failed authentication attempts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to Node-RED port (default 1880) from unexpected sources
- Command execution patterns in HTTP requests
SIEM Query:
source="node-red" AND (http_status=200 AND http_method=POST AND url_path="/red/*") AND NOT user_agent="browser-agent"