Overview
CVE-2025-6926 is a serious cybersecurity vulnerability that affects the Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension. This improper authentication vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication measures, potentially compromising systems and leading to data leakage. Given the widespread use of Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension for managing multiple wikis, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations and users that depend on this software for their day-to-day operations.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-6926
Severity: High (8.8 on the CVSS Severity Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension | 1.39.X before 1.39.13
Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension | 1.42.X before 1.42.7
Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension | 1.43.X before 1.43.2
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from an improper authentication mechanism in the Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension. This flaw can be exploited by attackers to bypass authentication processes, allowing unauthorized access to the system. Such a security breach can result in unauthorized modifications, potential system compromise, and data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
In exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker may send a request like the following to the vulnerable system:
POST /mediawiki/api.php?format=json&action=centralauth&submodule=mergeaccount HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "username": "admin", "password": "1234" }This is a conceptual example and the actual payload would depend on the specifics of the targeted system.
Mitigation Guidance
The best way to safeguard your system against this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-supplied patch immediately. For Mediawiki – CentralAuth Extension, this means updating to version 1.39.13, 1.42.7, or 1.43.2 depending on your current version. In the interim, you may also use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as temporary mitigation. However, these should not be considered long-term solutions, as they do not effectively resolve the underlying vulnerability.