VulnerabilityPublished 9 Nov 2025Updated 14 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-12921: OpenClinica Community Edition · XML Injection

Affects OpenClinica Community EditionSource CVE Database V5

Public exploit available · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 47% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: POC

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Exploit Maturity: POC: Based on threat intelligence sources each of the following must apply: · Proof-of-concept is publicly available · No knowledge of reported attempts to exploit this vulnerability · No knowledge of publicly available solutions used to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: evidence found.
CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CVSS vector, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
OpenClinica Community Edition	Affected 3.0 – 3.13 17 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Given the absence of official patches, European organizations should implement immediate compensating controls. First, restrict access to the /ImportCRFData?action=confirm endpoint to trusted users and networks, ideally via network segmentation and strict access controls. Implement input validation and sanitization at the application or proxy level to detect and block malicious XML payloads targeting the xml_file parameter. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to identify XML injection patterns. Monitor logs for unusual XML import activity or errors indicative of injection attempts. Where possible, upgrade to newer OpenClinica versions if they become available with fixes or consider alternative clinical data management solutions with active support. Conduct security awareness training for administrators on this vulnerability and establish incident response plans for potential exploitation. Finally, engage with the OpenClinica community or vendors for updates and share threat intelligence to prepare for emerging exploits.

Description

A vulnerability has been found in OpenClinica Community Edition up to 3.12.2/3.13. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file /ImportCRFData?action=confirm of the component CRF Data Import. Such manipulation of the argument xml_file leads to xml injection. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Impact

For European organizations, particularly those involved in clinical trials and healthcare research, this vulnerability poses a risk to the integrity and reliability of clinical data managed via OpenClinica Community Edition. Successful exploitation could lead to corrupted or manipulated clinical trial data, potentially invalidating research outcomes and causing regulatory non-compliance. This could result in financial penalties, reputational damage, and delays in drug development or medical research. Additionally, if the XML injection is leveraged to execute further attacks, it could compromise system availability or leak sensitive information, although the CVSS indicates limited confidentiality impact. The medium severity suggests moderate risk, but the critical nature of clinical data elevates the potential consequences. European healthcare institutions using affected versions without mitigations are particularly vulnerable, especially as no patches are currently available and vendor support is lacking.

Summary

CVE-2025-12921 is an XML injection vulnerability identified in OpenClinica Community Edition versions 3.0 through 3.13, specifically within the CRF Data Import component's /ImportCRFData?action=confirm endpoint. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation or sanitization of the xml_file parameter, which accepts XML data for importing case report form (CRF) data. An attacker can remotely craft and submit malicious XML content that manipulates the XML structure or injects harmful payloads, potentially altering the application's behavior or corrupting data. Exploitation does not require user interaction and can be performed with low privileges, increasing the attack surface. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and low impact on confidentiality (VC:L) with no impact on integrity or availability. Despite the medium severity, the lack of vendor response and absence of patches raise concerns about timely remediation. The vulnerability could be leveraged to disrupt clinical trial data integrity or cause denial of service by injecting malformed XML. Given OpenClinica's role in clinical research data management, exploitation could undermine research validity and regulatory compliance. No public exploits have been observed, but the public disclosure increases the risk of exploitation attempts.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Nov 2025, 23:47 UTC

Technical details

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