Compliance Impact

The vulnerability in GeoServer allows an authenticated administrator to create files containing the master password in plaintext, which can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive credentials.

This exposure of sensitive authentication information could potentially violate data protection requirements in standards and regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, which mandate the protection of sensitive data and credentials to prevent unauthorized access.

Additionally, the risk of remote code execution and NTLM hash disclosure could lead to further unauthorized access or data breaches, increasing the likelihood of non-compliance with these regulations.

Mitigation steps, such as upgrading to fixed versions or disabling the vulnerable web interface, are necessary to maintain compliance and reduce the risk of data exposure.

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Executive Summary

CVE-2025-52465 is a vulnerability in GeoServer versions 2.26.0 to 2.26.3 and 2.27.0 to 2.27.2 that allows an authenticated administrator with access to the security system to exploit the Master Password Dump web page.

By providing an absolute file path, the administrator can create a new file containing the master password in plaintext. This happens because GeoServer performs minimal validation on the file name input, allowing absolute paths to be used.

Additionally, GeoServer does not enforce a maximum password length, which allows administrators to embed malicious code in their passwords. If dumped into a JSP file, this could lead to remote code execution in environments where JSP files can be dynamically executed, such as default Tomcat installations.

The vulnerability is mitigated if the GeoServer web interface is disabled or removed, and fixed in versions 2.26.4 and 2.27.3.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have several serious impacts if exploited by an authenticated administrator:

• Exposure of the master password in plaintext files, compromising the security of the GeoServer instance.
• Potential remote code execution if malicious code is embedded in the password and dumped into executable JSP files, especially in environments like default Tomcat installations.
• Disclosure of NTLM hashes in Windows environments, which could be used for further attacks such as brute-force or relay attacks.
• Possible denial of service by writing files to locations where the GeoServer process has write permissions.

The vulnerability requires authenticated administrator access, so the risk is limited to trusted users with high privileges.

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Detection Guidance

Detection of this vulnerability involves verifying the GeoServer version and checking for the presence of the vulnerable Master Password Dump web page. Since the vulnerability requires an authenticated administrator to access the security system and exploit the Master Password Dump page, monitoring for unusual file creation attempts with absolute paths on the server could indicate exploitation attempts.

You can detect if your GeoServer instance is vulnerable by checking the version number. Versions 2.26.0 to 2.26.3 and 2.27.0 to 2.27.2 are affected. Versions 2.26.4 and 2.27.3 or later contain the fix.

Commands to help detect the vulnerability or exploitation attempts might include:

• Check GeoServer version via the web interface or command line.
• Search for unexpected files created by the GeoServer process, especially files containing plaintext master passwords, using commands like: find /path/to/geoserver/data -type f -exec grep -l 'master password' {} +
• Monitor web server logs for requests to the Master Password Dump page or unusual POST requests with absolute file paths.
• Audit GeoServer logs for authenticated administrator actions that involve the security system or file creation.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include upgrading GeoServer to a fixed version, specifically version 2.26.4 or 2.27.3 or later, where the vulnerability has been addressed.

If upgrading is not immediately possible, you can mitigate the risk by disabling or completely removing the GeoServer web interface, since the vulnerability exists only in one of the web pages.

Additional mitigation includes restricting administrator access to the GeoServer security system to trusted personnel only and monitoring for suspicious activity related to file creation or access to the Master Password Dump page.

The update also replaces the vulnerable file-based master password info page with a REST API approach, improving security by preventing plaintext password exposure.

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