Overview
CVE-2025-66223 identifies a critical broken access control vulnerability within OpenObserve, a cloud-native observability platform. Specifically, organization invitation tokens did not expire and remained valid even after a user was removed or demoted, allowing them to potentially regain access or escalate their privileges. This issue affects versions prior to 0.16.0. This article details the vulnerability, its potential impact, and the necessary steps for mitigation.
Technical Details
The vulnerability stems from the way OpenObserve handles organization invitations. Before version 0.16.0, when an administrator invited a user to join an organization, the generated invitation token would persist indefinitely. Furthermore, multiple invitations with differing roles could be sent to the same email address, with all links remaining active concurrently. Even if a user was subsequently removed from the organization or their role was downgraded, the original invitation token would still allow them to rejoin with the initially granted privileges. This lack of token expiration and role validation creates a significant security risk, enabling unauthorized access and privilege escalation.
CVSS Analysis
Currently, the CVSS score for CVE-2025-66223 is marked as N/A, indicating that a formal CVSS score has not yet been assigned. However, given the potential for unauthorized access and privilege escalation, a high severity score would be expected once evaluated. The lack of proper access control significantly weakens the security posture of OpenObserve instances.
Possible Impact
The exploitation of CVE-2025-66223 can have severe consequences:
- Unauthorized Access: Removed users can regain access to sensitive organizational data.
- Privilege Escalation: Demoted users can potentially reinstate their higher-level privileges, allowing them to perform actions they are no longer authorized to do.
- Data Breach: Compromised accounts with elevated privileges could be used to access and exfiltrate sensitive data.
- Service Disruption: Malicious actors could leverage compromised accounts to disrupt the normal operation of the OpenObserve platform.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
The vulnerability has been patched in OpenObserve version 0.16.0. The following steps are recommended to mitigate the risk:
- Upgrade to Version 0.16.0 or later: This is the primary and most effective way to address the vulnerability. Ensure that all OpenObserve instances are updated to the latest stable release.
- Review Existing Invitations: While the upgrade fixes the vulnerability for newly generated invitations, it’s advisable to review existing invitations and revoke any that are no longer valid or necessary. (Note: You’ll have to manually identify and track these invitations prior to the upgrade, as the vulnerable version doesn’t offer native revocation features.)
