CVE-2025-55299
📋 TL;DR
VaulTLS versions before 0.9.1 have a critical authentication bypass vulnerability. Attackers can log into user accounts created through the web UI using empty passwords, and disabling password-based login only affects the frontend while leaving the API vulnerable. This affects all VaulTLS deployments using affected versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- VaulTLS
⚠️ 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 compromise of the mTLS certificate management system, allowing attackers to issue fraudulent certificates, intercept encrypted traffic, and impersonate legitimate services.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to certificate management functions, potential certificate theft or issuance, and compromise of TLS-secured communications.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if strong network segmentation, API authentication controls, and monitoring are in place to detect unauthorized access attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires knowledge of valid usernames but no password. The attack is simple to execute once a target username is identified.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.9.1
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/7ritn/VaulTLS/security/advisories/GHSA-pjfr-pj3h-cw8m
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup current configuration and data. 2. Stop VaulTLS service. 3. Update to version 0.9.1 or later. 4. Restart VaulTLS service. 5. Verify functionality and check logs for errors.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable API access
linuxTemporarily block API access while maintaining frontend functionality
# Configure firewall to block API port (default 8443)
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8443 -j DROP
Reset all user passwords
allForce password reset for all user accounts
# This requires database access - consult VaulTLS documentation
# Update password_hash field in users table for all accounts
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level access controls to restrict API access to trusted IPs only
- Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring for authentication attempts and API access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if VaulTLS version is below 0.9.1 and test if user accounts accept empty passwords via API authenticationCheck Version:
vaultls --version or check the web interface footerVerify Fix Applied:
After updating to 0.9.1, verify that empty passwords are rejected and API authentication respects disabled password login settings📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Authentication attempts with empty passwords
- API login attempts from unusual IPs
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful login
Network Indicators:
- Unusual API traffic patterns
- Authentication requests to API endpoints from unauthorized sources
SIEM Query:
source="vaultls" AND (event="authentication" AND password="") OR (event="api_login" AND result="success")