Overview
The cybersecurity world is in a state of high alert due to the discovery of a new significant vulnerability, CVE-2025-53825. This vulnerability is associated with Dokploy, a popular free, self-hostable Platform as a Service (PaaS). This vulnerability is particularly critical, given the fact that it allows any user to execute arbitrary code and access sensitive environment variables. This is achievable by merely opening a pull request on a public repository. This risk puts all public Dokploy users using preview deployments at risk, potentially leading to system compromise or significant data leakage.
This blog post is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of this vulnerability, its potential impact, the mechanism of exploitation, and the necessary mitigation strategies. For organizations leveraging Dokploy, understanding and addressing this vulnerability is crucial to ensuring the security of their data and systems.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53825
Severity: Critical (9.4 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Dokploy | Prior to Version 0.24.3
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability manifests itself when an unauthenticated user opens a pull request on a public repository. This action triggers a preview deployment, which exposes sensitive environment variables. This exposure opens a pathway for attackers to execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to unauthorized access to the system or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited using an HTTP request:
POST /pull_request/open HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"pull_request": {
"repo": "public_repo",
"branch": "master",
"changes": [
{
"type": "add",
"file": "exploit.sh",
"content": "echo $ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES"
}
]
}
}In this example, the attacker creates a pull request that adds an exploit script. This script, when executed, will print out all the environment variables, potentially revealing sensitive information.
Recommendations
The most effective mitigation strategy for this vulnerability is to upgrade Dokploy to version 0.24.3 or above, which contains the necessary fix for the issue. If the upgrade is not immediately possible, organizations can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation strategy. It is crucial for organizations to prioritize this vulnerability and take appropriate action to secure their systems and data.