CVE-2025-54378 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.3) CWE-285 vulnerability in @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs. A fix is available for @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs — see the affected versions and patch details below.
HAX CMS Backend Lacks Comprehensive Authorization Checks
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-54378.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
@haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejsnpmDescription
Summary
The HAX CMS API endpoints do not perform authorization checks when interacting with a resource. Both the JS and PHP versions of the CMS do not verify that a user has permission to interact with a resource before performing a given operation.
Details
The API endpoints within the HAX CMS application check if a user is authenticated, but don't check for authorization before performing an operation.
Affected Resources
- Operations.php: 760
createNode() - Operations.php: 868
saveNode() - Operations.php: 1171
deleteNode() - Operations.php: 1789
listSites() - Operations.php: 1890
createSite() - Operations.php: 2196
getConfig() - Operations.php: 2389
cloneSite() - Operations.php: 2467
deleteSite() - Operations.php: 2524
downloadSite() - Operations.php: 2607
archiveSite()
Note: This may not include all affected endpoints within the application.
Impact
An authenticated attacker can make requests to interact with other users' sites. This can be used to enumerate, modify, and delete other users' sites and nodes.
Additionally, an authenticated attacker can use the 'getConfig' endpoint to pull the application's configuration, which may store cleartext credentials.
PoC - /deleteNode
- Browse to the 'site.json' file for a target site, and note the ID of the item to delete.
- Make a POST request to the 'deleteNode' endpoint with a valid JWT and the target object ID.
Site before editing:
Site after editing:
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs | all versions | 11.0.14npm install @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs@11.0.14 |
| 🐘Packagist | elmsln/haxcms | all versions | 11.0.14composer require elmsln/haxcms:^11.0.14 |
Affected Products
haxcms-nodejspsuhaxcms-phppsuDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs to 11.0.14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-54378 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-54378 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, Packagist, including transitive dependencies.