Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
GeoServer administrators could make a vulnerable web page write the system master password into a new plaintext file at a chosen absolute path. This requires high privileges, but compromise or misuse of an admin account could expose sensitive secrets and affect system integrity.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for internet-reachable or broadly administered GeoServer environments. The prerequisite is high privilege, but the exposed asset is the master password, making impact potentially severe after admin compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2025-52465 is a CWE-73 arbitrary file-name/path issue in GeoServer's Master Password Dump Page. Authenticated administrators with security-system access can supply an absolute output path, if the file does not already exist and parent directories exist. Fixed in GeoServer 2.26.4 and 2.27.3.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to GeoServer deployments running affected gs-web-app or gs-web-sec-core versions with the web interface enabled. Installations with the web interface disabled or removed are listed as not affected.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation is supported by the provided evidence. The CVE is not marked KEV. Abuse requires authenticated administrator access, so risk rises sharply where admin credentials, SSO, or management networks are weak.
Researcher notes
The bundled Check Point reference appears to concern CVE-2025-24054, not this GeoServer issue, so it should not be used to infer exploitation of CVE-2025-52465. Evidence is strongest from the CVE record, GitHub advisory, fix PR, and OSGeo issue.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade GeoServer to 2.26.4 or 2.27.3 or later.
- Disable or remove the GeoServer web interface where operationally feasible.
- Restrict GeoServer admin access to trusted networks and named administrators.
- Review vendor guidance before applying compensating controls.
- Rotate secrets if master password exposure is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Inventory GeoServer versions and affected Maven components.
- Confirm whether the GeoServer web interface is enabled.
- Review administrator account access to the security system.
- Check for unexpected newly created files in writable server paths.
- Review logs for Master Password Dump Page access.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-73: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-52465 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.25.9GitHub_MVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/security/advisories/GHSA-7qmg-grcp-qf25CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/pull/8584CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
- https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOS-11852CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
- https://research.checkpoint.com/2025/cve-2025-24054-ntlm-exploit-in-the-wildCVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
External Control of File Name or Path
External Control of File Name or Path represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.