CVE-2025-68269
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA allows attackers to trick users into opening untrusted remote projects over SSH without proper confirmation dialogs. It affects developers using IntelliJ IDEA versions before 2025.3 who connect to remote SSH repositories.
💻 Affected Systems
- JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
📦 What is this software?
Intellij Idea by Jetbrains
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could execute arbitrary code on the developer's machine by crafting a malicious remote project that exploits other vulnerabilities when opened.
Likely Case
Attackers could gain access to sensitive development files, credentials, or source code by tricking users into opening compromised remote projects.
If Mitigated
With proper user awareness and security controls, the risk is limited to accidental opening of untrusted projects with minimal impact.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to trick users into opening malicious remote projects. No authentication bypass is involved.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2025.3
Vendor Advisory: https://www.jetbrains.com/privacy-security/issues-fixed/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open IntelliJ IDEA. 2. Go to Help > Check for Updates. 3. Install version 2025.3 or later. 4. Restart IntelliJ IDEA.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable SSH remote project opening
allPrevent IntelliJ IDEA from opening projects over SSH connections
Not applicable - configure through IDE settings
Use only trusted SSH repositories
allConfigure IntelliJ to only connect to known, trusted SSH repositories
Not applicable - policy/configuration change
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict policies prohibiting opening remote projects from untrusted SSH sources
- Use network segmentation to restrict SSH connections to trusted repositories only
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check IntelliJ IDEA version in Help > About. If version is below 2025.3 and you use SSH remote projects, you are vulnerable.Check Version:
Not applicable - check through IDE interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify version is 2025.3 or later in Help > About. Test opening a remote SSH project - you should see confirmation dialogs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SSH connection attempts to IntelliJ IDEA
- Multiple failed project opening attempts from unknown sources
Network Indicators:
- SSH connections from unexpected IP addresses to developer workstations
SIEM Query:
source="intellij" AND event="ssh_connection" AND dest_ip NOT IN (trusted_repo_ips)