Overview
CVE-2025-13948 identifies a medium severity vulnerability within the opsre go-ldap-admin project, specifically affecting versions up to 20251011. The issue stems from the potential use of a hardcoded cryptographic key related to JWT handling. An attacker could potentially exploit this by manipulating the ‘secret key’ argument, leading to unauthorized access or data manipulation. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable but considered difficult to exploit.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides within the JWT Handler component of go-ldap-admin. The specific area of concern is the docs/docker-compose/docker-compose.yaml file. By manipulating the secret key argument used during JWT creation, an attacker can potentially force the application to utilize a hardcoded or predictable cryptographic key. This significantly weakens the security of the JWTs, allowing for potential forgery and unauthorized access to resources protected by these tokens.
Publicly available exploits exist for this vulnerability, increasing the risk of exploitation.
CVSS Analysis
The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.6, indicating a MEDIUM severity. This score reflects the potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While the attack complexity is high, the existence of publicly available exploits increases the likelihood of successful exploitation.
- CVSS Score: 5.6
- Severity: Medium
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-13948 could have significant consequences:
- Unauthorized Access: Attackers could forge JWTs, gaining unauthorized access to user accounts and protected resources.
- Data Manipulation: With control over JWTs, attackers could potentially manipulate data associated with user accounts or other sensitive information.
- Compromised LDAP Security: If the JWTs are used for authenticating against an LDAP directory, the entire LDAP security infrastructure could be compromised.
Mitigation & Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-13948, the following steps are recommended:
- Upgrade go-ldap-admin: Upgrade to a version of go-ldap-admin that includes a fix for this vulnerability. Check the official opsre repository or documentation for available patches or updated versions. Unfortunately, based on the description, the vulnerability exists up to version `20251011`. If a patch is not yet available, follow the workaround steps below.
- Strong Secret Key Generation: If a patch is not available, and upgrading is not possible, ensure the
secret keyis not hardcoded and is generated using a cryptographically secure random number generator. Avoid using default or example keys. - Key Rotation: Implement a key rotation policy to regularly change the secret key, limiting the window of opportunity for attackers.
- Review Docker Configuration: Thoroughly review the
docker-compose.yamlfile and any other configuration files to ensure no sensitive information, including cryptographic keys, are hardcoded. - Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Monitor application logs for any suspicious activity related to JWT authentication or LDAP access.
