CVE-2025-71404 — better-auth
Fix: better-auth/better-auth@05ada0bCVE-2025-71404 is a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in better-auth. A fix is available for better-auth — see the affected versions and patch details below.
better-auth before 1.1.16 Reflected XSS via error parameter
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2025-71404.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
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.
better-authnpmDescription
better-auth versions after v0.0.2 and before 1.1.16 contain a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability on the /api/auth/error page, where the value of the 'error' URL parameter is reflected as HTML without proper neutralization. An attacker who coerces a user into visiting a specially-crafted URL can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the user's browser. The issue is fixed in version 1.1.16.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | better-auth | ≥ 0.0.2&&< 1.1.16 | 1.1.16npm install better-auth@1.1.16 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for better-auth, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update better-auth to 1.1.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-71404 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2025-71404 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-71404. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-71404 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-71404 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.