CVE-2025-6386
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BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-07-07

Last updated on: 2025-07-08

Assigner: huntr.dev

Description
The parisneo/lollms repository is affected by a timing attack vulnerability in the `authenticate_user` function within the `lollms_authentication.py` file. This vulnerability allows attackers to enumerate valid usernames and guess passwords incrementally by analyzing response time differences. The affected version is the latest, and the issue is resolved in version 20.1. The vulnerability arises from the use of Python's default string equality operator for password comparison, which compares characters sequentially and exits on the first mismatch, leading to variable response times based on the number of matching initial characters.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-07-07
Last Modified
2025-07-08
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-07-07
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
Affected Vendors & Products
Currently, no data is known.
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-203 The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor, which exposes security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not.
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a timing attack in the authenticate_user function of the lollms_authentication.py file in the parisneo/lollms repository. It allows attackers to enumerate valid usernames and guess passwords incrementally by measuring differences in response times. The issue arises because the password comparison uses Python's default string equality operator, which compares characters one by one and stops at the first mismatch, causing variable response times that leak information.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can discover valid usernames and progressively guess passwords by analyzing response time differences. This can lead to unauthorized access to user accounts without needing direct access to password hashes or other sensitive data, increasing the risk of account compromise.


How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring response times of the authentication function to identify timing discrepancies that reveal valid usernames or partial password matches. Since the vulnerability arises from timing differences in the `authenticate_user` function, you can perform timing analysis by repeatedly sending authentication requests with different usernames and passwords and measuring response times. Specific commands are not provided in the resources, but a typical approach involves scripting repeated login attempts and measuring response latency to detect timing variations.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

Immediate mitigation involves updating the lollms project to version 20.1 or later, where the vulnerable authentication code has been removed as per the commit that deleted the `lollms_authentication.py` file. Removing or replacing the vulnerable authentication mechanism eliminates the timing attack vector. Until the update can be applied, consider restricting access to the authentication endpoint and monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts. [1]


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