CVE-2025-66385
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows authenticated non-privileged users in Cerebrate to escalate their privileges by manipulating role_id or organisation_id fields when editing user profiles. Attackers can gain administrative access or other elevated roles. All Cerebrate instances running versions before 1.30 with authenticated users are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cerebrate
⚠️ 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
An attacker gains full administrative control over the Cerebrate instance, allowing them to access sensitive data, modify configurations, create/delete users, and potentially compromise the entire system.
Likely Case
Malicious authenticated users elevate their privileges to admin level, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive organizational data and administrative functions.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and authorization checks, the vulnerability is prevented, maintaining proper role-based access control.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but is straightforward via API/web interface manipulation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.30
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/cerebrate-project/cerebrate/commit/c9bfa90abc85d4a20a9cc2f282959b72bef829bb
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your Cerebrate instance. 2. Update to version 1.30 or later via git pull or package update. 3. Restart the Cerebrate service. 4. Verify the fix by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd middleware or controller logic to filter role_id and organisation_id fields from non-admin user requests.
Modify UsersController::edit method to check user permissions before processing role_id/organisation_id
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict API gateway rules to block role_id and organisation_id parameter modifications from non-admin users.
- Monitor user edit logs for suspicious role/organization changes and implement alerting.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Cerebrate version is below 1.30 and review if UsersController::edit method lacks proper authorization checks for role_id/organisation_id fields.Check Version:
Check Cerebrate version in web interface or via 'git describe --tags' in installation directory.Verify Fix Applied:
After updating to 1.30+, attempt to modify role_id as non-admin user via user-edit endpoint; request should be rejected.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- User edit requests containing role_id or organisation_id modifications from non-admin users
- Sudden privilege escalation events in audit logs
Network Indicators:
- POST/PUT requests to user-edit endpoints with modified role/organization parameters
SIEM Query:
source="cerebrate" AND (event="user_edit" AND (role_id_changed="true" OR organisation_id_changed="true") AND user_role!="admin")