CVE-2025-52465 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) CWE-73 vulnerability in org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app. A fix is available for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app — see the affected versions and patch details below.
GeoServer has an arbitrary file write vulnerability in its Master Password Dump Page
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-52465.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2025-52465 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,842 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-appReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
A vulnerability exists that allows an authenticated administrator with access to GeoServer's security system to pass arbitrary file names to the Master Password Dump web page and create files containing the master password in plaintext. The provided file name must be an absolute path to the target file, the target file can not already exist and all parent directories must already exist.
Details
When dumping the master password, GeoServer will use the provided file name with minimal validation as long as it is a java.io.File path. The only limitation is that the fix for a previous, unrelated vulnerability prevents relative path traversal here but absolute paths can be used to access arbitrary files. GeoServer does not enforce a maximum password length by default which allows an administrator to place malicious code into their password which could then be dumped into a JSP file.
Impact
Remote Code Execution (High severity)
This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code if GeoServer is deployed in an environment where an attacker can dynamically deploy and execute a JSP file. This is possible if the geoserver.war file is simply placed into the webapps directory of a default Tomcat installation.
NTLM Hash Disclosure (Moderate severity)
If GeoServer is deployed in a Windows operating system and the GeoServer administrator does not already have access to the Windows account running the GeoServer process, it may be possible for the administrator to make GeoServer trigger an outbound NTLM request to a remote, attacker-controlled server and gain access to the NTLM hash or user password for use in future attacks.
Denial of Service (Low severity)
This vulnerability allows writing a file to any location where the GeoServer process has write permissions which could still potentially cause some kind of denial of service.
Mitigation
GeoServer installations where the web interface is either disabled or completely removed are not affected since the vulnerability exists in one of the web pages.
Resources
https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOS-11852 https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/pull/8584
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | ≥ 2.27.0&&< 2.27.3 | 2.27.3org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.27.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core | ≥ 2.27.0&&< 2.27.3 | 2.27.3org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core:2.27.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core | all versions | 2.26.4org.geoserver.web:gs-web-sec-core:2.26.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | all versions | 2.26.4org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.26.4 |
Affected Products
geoserverosgeoDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app to 2.27.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-52465 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-52465 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.