Published: 2025-11-29
Overview
CVE-2025-53897 describes a medium severity vulnerability affecting Kiteworks Managed File Transfer (MFT) versions prior to 9.1.0. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive log information by exploiting a cross-site scripting (XSS)-like flaw. By tricking an administrator into visiting a crafted, malicious page within the Kiteworks MFT system, an attacker can potentially access and exfiltrate log data.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding when an administrator interacts with specific pages within the Kiteworks MFT interface. An attacker could craft a malicious URL or embed malicious content within a seemingly legitimate page of the application. When an administrator, authenticated and authorized, navigates to this specially crafted page, the malicious code could execute and potentially leak log data to the attacker. This is conceptually similar to a reflected XSS attack, but targeted at gaining access to system logs, rather than directly stealing user sessions.
CVSS Analysis
The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.8, which is categorized as MEDIUM severity. This score reflects the potential impact of the vulnerability, considering the access complexity, attack vector, and potential confidentiality impact. The specific CVSS vector string isn’t provided, but a score of 6.8 suggests the following characteristics:
- Attack Vector: Network
- Attack Complexity: Medium (requires social engineering)
- Privileges Required: High (requires an administrator to interact with the malicious page)
- User Interaction: Required (administrator needs to click the link)
- Scope: Changed (access to resources outside the attacker’s authority)
- Confidentiality Impact: High (potential access to sensitive log data)
- Integrity Impact: None
- Availability Impact: None
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-53897 could lead to:
- Data Breach: Exposure of sensitive information contained within the Kiteworks MFT logs, potentially including file names, user activity, and other metadata.
- Compliance Violations: Depending on the data contained within the logs, the vulnerability could lead to violations of data privacy regulations.
- Privilege Escalation (Indirect): Exposed log data could be used to discover vulnerabilities or configuration weaknesses within the system, potentially leading to further attacks and privilege escalation.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The vulnerability is patched in Kiteworks MFT version 9.1.0. It is highly recommended that all users of Kiteworks MFT versions prior to 9.1.0 upgrade to version 9.1.0 or later as soon as possible.
- Upgrade Kiteworks MFT: Follow the official Kiteworks upgrade documentation to upgrade your MFT installation to version 9.1.0 or a later, patched version.
- Monitor System Logs: Continuously monitor system logs for suspicious activity or anomalies that may indicate attempted exploitation.
- Security Awareness Training: Educate administrators about the risks of clicking on suspicious links or browsing untrusted websites.
