CVE-2025-52997
📋 TL;DR
File Browser versions before 2.34.1 lack password policy enforcement and brute-force protection, allowing attackers to guess passwords through repeated authentication attempts. This affects all File Browser instances with user accounts that haven't been updated. Attackers could compromise any account on vulnerable instances.
💻 Affected Systems
- File Browser
📦 What is this software?
Filebrowser by Filebrowser
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete account takeover of all File Browser users, leading to unauthorized file access, modification, deletion, or potential privilege escalation if admin accounts are compromised.
Likely Case
Attackers gain access to user accounts with weak passwords, potentially accessing sensitive files or using the system as an initial foothold.
If Mitigated
Limited to accounts with extremely weak passwords if rate limiting or monitoring is in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authentication attempts but no special tools - standard brute-force tools can be used. The advisory provides technical details but no public exploit code.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.34.1
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/security/advisories/GHSA-cm2r-rg7r-p7gg
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Stop File Browser service. 2. Backup configuration and data. 3. Update to version 2.34.1 or later. 4. Restart File Browser service. 5. Verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement network-level rate limiting
linuxUse firewall or reverse proxy to limit authentication attempts per IP
# Example nginx rate limiting
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=auth:10m rate=5r/m;
# Add to location block:
limit_req zone=auth burst=10 nodelay;
Enforce strong passwords manually
allRequire all users to set complex passwords until patched
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Place File Browser behind VPN or restrict access to trusted IPs only
- Implement comprehensive logging and monitoring for failed authentication attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check File Browser version via web interface or configuration file. Versions below 2.34.1 are vulnerable.Check Version:
filebrowser versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 2.34.1 or higher and test that rapid authentication attempts are now rate-limited.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts from same IP
- Unusual authentication patterns
- Successful login after many failures
Network Indicators:
- High volume of POST requests to /api/login
- Traffic patterns suggesting brute-force tools
SIEM Query:
source="filebrowser.log" | search "login failed" | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10