Published: 2025-11-18T15:16:38.530
Overview
CVE-2025-9312 describes a critical missing authentication enforcement vulnerability affecting certain WSO2 products. This vulnerability resides within the mutual TLS (mTLS) implementation used by System REST APIs and SOAP services. Improper validation of client certificate-based authentication, specifically within default configurations, allows unauthenticated requests to be processed even when mTLS is enabled. This flaw can lead to complete system compromise.
Technical Details
The core of the vulnerability lies in the insufficient validation of client certificates when using default mTLS configurations for System REST APIs or when the mTLS authenticator is enabled for SOAP services. Under these specific conditions, the affected components fail to properly enforce authentication, inadvertently accepting requests without requiring valid client certificates. This means a malicious actor can bypass the intended security controls provided by mTLS. It is important to note that this vulnerability is only exploitable if the impacted mTLS flows are enabled and accessible within the deployment. Other certificate-based authentication mechanisms such as Mutual TLS OAuth client authentication and X.509 login flows are unaffected, and APIs served through the API Gateway of WSO2 API Manager remain unaffected. The specific affected products and versions can be found in the official WSO2 security advisory.
CVSS Analysis
This vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This high score reflects the severity of the potential impact, which includes:
- Vector: Network
- Attack Complexity: Low
- Privileges Required: None
- User Interaction: None
- Scope: Unchanged
- Confidentiality Impact: High
- Integrity Impact: High
- Availability Impact: High
The low attack complexity and lack of required privileges make this vulnerability particularly dangerous.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-9312 can allow a malicious actor with network access to the affected endpoints to:
- Gain administrative privileges.
- Perform unauthorized operations.
- Access sensitive data.
- Modify system configurations.
- Potentially disrupt or completely shut down services.
The impact is significant, as it can lead to a complete compromise of the affected WSO2 deployment.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate this vulnerability, WSO2 strongly recommends applying the security updates provided in the official security advisory. The specific steps to take will depend on the affected WSO2 product and version. Please follow these steps:
- Identify Affected Products: Determine which WSO2 products and versions are running in your environment.
- Review the Security Advisory: Carefully review the official WSO2 Security Advisory WSO2-2025-4494 for detailed instructions and specific patch information.
- Apply the Patch: Download and apply the appropriate patch or upgrade to a patched version of the software according to the instructions provided in the advisory.
- Verify the Fix: After applying the patch, thoroughly test the affected systems to ensure the vulnerability has been successfully remediated.
- Review Configurations: Audit your mTLS configurations to ensure they are not relying on the vulnerable default settings and that authentication is properly enforced. Consider implementing stricter validation of client certificates.
Prompt application of the provided patch is crucial to protect your systems from exploitation.
