Threats / Craft CMS / CVE-2025-23209
CVE-2025-23209
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Craft CMS vulnerability
Craft CMS contains a code injection vulnerability in database backup path validation, enabling remote code execution through improper input handling.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An unauthenticated or low-privileged attacker can inject arbitrary code via the database backup path parameter, achieving remote code execution on the affected Craft CMS instance. The vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild.
CISA KEV Yes · 2025-02-205EPSS 0.04356 (verify live)6CVSS 8.13CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
3 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-02-20).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.04356 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 8.1 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Craft CMS, Craft CMS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-94 Code Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 33 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I identify that Craft CMS fails to properly validate the database backup path parameter.
Business
The organization's web application becomes a direct entry point for arbitrary code execution without authentication barriers.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft a malicious payload embedding code within the backup path input and submit it to the vulnerable endpoint.
Business
Attackers gain execution context within the application server, bypassing application-level access controls.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary commands on the server to establish persistence, exfiltrate data, or pivot to internal systems.
Business
The organization faces complete compromise of the affected server, including potential lateral movement to backend infrastructure and databases.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05