{"id":41294,"date":"2025-05-20T18:49:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:49:19","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-11T12:12:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T18:12:56","slug":"cve-2025-45746-unauthorized-system-access-via-hardcoded-jwt-secret-in-zkt-zkbio-cvsecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-45746-unauthorized-system-access-via-hardcoded-jwt-secret-in-zkt-zkbio-cvsecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-45746: Unauthorized System Access via Hardcoded JWT Secret in ZKT ZKBio CVSecurity<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE-2025-45746 is a critical cybersecurity vulnerability in ZKT ZKBio CVSecurity version 6.4.1_R, a popular biometric security solution used globally. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit a hardcoded JSON Web Token (JWT) secret and gain unauthorized access to the service console. It&#8217;s a serious issue that could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31234-input-sanitization-flaw-leading-to-system-termination-and-kernel-memory-corruption\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47863\">lead to potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage, affecting a wide range of organizations using this software for their security measures. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/escalating-cybersecurity-threats-to-healthcare-providers-hscc-urges-immediate-action\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48292\">Cybersecurity personnel and IT managers should pay immediate<\/a> attention to this vulnerability and take appropriate actions to mitigate its potential consequences.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-45746<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: None<br \/>\nImpact: Unauthorized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43564-improper-access-control-vulnerability-in-coldfusion-leading-to-arbitrary-file-system-read\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"49369\">system access<\/a>, potential system compromise, and data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2135325151\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>ZKT ZKBio CVSecurity | 6.4.1_R<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An attacker exploits this vulnerability by crafting a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-20182-critical-vulnerability-in-cisco-device-software-allows-dos-attacks\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"46258\">JWT token using the hardcoded secret embedded in the ZKT<\/a> ZKBio CVSecurity software. The crafted JWT token is then used to authenticate to the service console, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-22462-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-in-ivanti-neurons-for-itsm\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48567\">bypassing the standard authentication<\/a> procedures. Since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-27845-critical-vulnerability-exposes-jwt-secret-resulting-in-elevated-permissions\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"81702\">JWT secret<\/a> is hardcoded, it is the same for all installations of the affected version, making it an easy target for a wide-ranging attack.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-129467627\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This sample <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4829-critical-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-totolink-http-post-request-handler\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"58005\">HTTP request<\/a> demonstrates how an attacker might send a forged JWT token to the console&#8217;s authentication endpoint:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/console\/authenticate HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\nAuthorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1bmF1dGhvcml6ZWRVc2VyIn0.ZKT_HARDCODED_JWT_SECRET\n{ &quot;username&quot;: &quot;unauthorizedUser&quot; }<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Note: The actual malicious payload will depend on the specific implementation details of the target <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/nucor-cybersecurity-incident-a-detailed-analysis-of-the-attack-and-its-implications\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48291\">system<\/a> and the malicious intent of the attacker.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most effective way to mitigate this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47884-jenkins-openid-connect-provider-plugin-vulnerability-leading-to-unauthorized-access\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"50004\">vulnerability is to apply the patch provided<\/a> by the vendor. If the patch is not immediately available or cannot be applied for any reason, a temporary mitigation measure could be to use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to block or flag <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31214-a-critical-network-traffic-interception-vulnerability-in-ios-and-ipados\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47864\">traffic that appears to be exploiting this vulnerability<\/a>. It is also strongly recommended to review the implementation of the JWT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-46584-improper-authentication-logic-vulnerability-in-file-system-module\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"58004\">authentication system<\/a> and avoid using hardcoded secrets in the software design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview CVE-2025-45746 is a critical cybersecurity vulnerability in ZKT ZKBio CVSecurity version 6.4.1_R, a popular biometric security solution used globally. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit a hardcoded JSON Web Token (JWT) secret and gain unauthorized access to the service console. It&#8217;s a serious issue that could lead to potential system compromise or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-41294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41294"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74156,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41294\/revisions\/74156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=41294"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=41294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}