{"id":69004,"date":"2025-08-31T10:10:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:10:27","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-08T03:08:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T09:08:31","slug":"cve-2025-53120-path-traversal-vulnerability-in-the-unified-pam-server-allows-unauthenticated-uploads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-53120-path-traversal-vulnerability-in-the-unified-pam-server-allows-unauthenticated-uploads\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-53120: Path Traversal Vulnerability in the Unified PAM Server Allows Unauthenticated Uploads<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving with new threats and vulnerabilities emerging daily. One of the most recent vulnerabilities to come to light is CVE-2025-53120, a path traversal vulnerability in the unauthenticated upload functionality of the Unified PAM server. This vulnerability, if exploited, allows a malicious actor to upload binaries and scripts to the server\u2019s configuration and web root directories, leading to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-50707-critical-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-thinkphp3-v-3-2-5\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"76572\">remote code execution<\/a>.<br \/>\nDue to the severity of the potential impact, this vulnerability is of significant concern for organizations using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-23311-stack-overflow-vulnerability-in-nvidia-triton-inference-server-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78798\">Unified PAM<\/a> server. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-42950-sap-landscape-transformation-vulnerability-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"77568\">potential for system<\/a> compromise or data leakage poses a significant risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-53120<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical (9.4 CVSS)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: None<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-8939-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-tenda-ac20-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78300\">Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3750398471\" 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>Unified PAM Server | All <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-55010-arbitrary-php-object-instantiation-in-kanboard-prior-to-version-1-2-47\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"77898\">versions prior<\/a> to patch<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The exploit takes advantage of a path traversal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43983-multiple-unauthenticated-access-control-vulnerabilities-in-kuwfi-cpf908-cp5-devices\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"76775\">vulnerability in the unauthenticated<\/a> upload functionality. By crafting a specific payload, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-9408-server-side-request-forgery-attack-in-eclipse-glassfish\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"77225\">attacker is able to bypass the server&#8217;s<\/a> directory restrictions. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-8714-critical-postgresql-vulnerability-allowing-malicious-code-injection-by-superusers\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"80649\">allows the attacker to upload malicious<\/a> binaries and scripts to the server&#8217;s configuration and web root directories, which are typically restricted areas. Once uploaded, these malicious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54689-high-risk-php-remote-file-inclusion-vulnerability-in-urna\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"76601\">files can be executed remotely<\/a>, giving the attacker control over the server.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3104617801\" 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>This conceptual example demonstrates a malicious HTTP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24000-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-in-wpexperts-post-smtp-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78975\">POST request that could exploit the vulnerability<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">POST \/unauthenticated\/upload HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/octet-stream\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=&quot;file&quot;; filename=&quot;..\/..\/webroot\/malicious_script.sh&quot;\n{ binary data }<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, the attacker uses a relative path (&#8216;..\/..\/webroot\/malicious_script.sh&#8217;) as the filename to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-55526-high-risk-directory-traversal-vulnerability-in-n8n-workflows\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"89345\">traverse back to the web root directory<\/a>. The server, failing to validate and sanitize the filename, saves the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-6079-arbitrary-file-upload-vulnerability-in-school-management-system-for-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"80610\">uploaded file<\/a> to this location, effectively allowing the attacker to place and later execute a malicious script on the server.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is strongly recommended that entities using the Unified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52913-critical-path-traversal-vulnerability-in-mitel-micollab-s-nupoint-unified-messaging-component\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78847\">PAM Server<\/a> apply the latest vendor patch to mitigate this vulnerability. In the absence of a patch, entities can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary measure, configuring them to detect and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-8418-arbitrary-plugin-installation-vulnerability-in-b-slider-gutenberg-slider-block-for-wp-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"82557\">block traffic patterns consistent with the exploitation of this vulnerability<\/a>. However, these measures should be seen as temporary and complement the pending application of the vendor patch, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-45968-insecure-direct-object-reference-vulnerability-in-system-pdv-v1-0\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"83018\">directly addresses and eliminates the vulnerability<\/a>.<br \/>\nIn addition, entities should review and strengthen their security controls around file uploads, including implementing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24325-improper-input-validation-in-intel-r-800-series-ethernet-driver-allows-potential-escalation-of-privilege\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"80462\">input validation<\/a> and sanitization routines that prevent directory traversal attacks. Regular security audits and penetration testing can also help uncover and mitigate such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-1411-exploitation-of-unnecessary-privileges-in-ibm-security-verify-directory-container\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78106\">vulnerabilities<\/a> before they can be exploited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving with new threats and vulnerabilities emerging daily. One of the most recent vulnerabilities to come to light is CVE-2025-53120, a path traversal vulnerability in the unauthenticated upload functionality of the Unified PAM server. This vulnerability, if exploited, allows a malicious actor to upload binaries and scripts to the [&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":[85,80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-69004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-directory-traversal","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69004","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=69004"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82176,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69004\/revisions\/82176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=69004"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=69004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}