VulnerabilityPublished 30 Nov 2025Updated 1 Dec 2025

CVE-2025-13787: ZenTao · Improper Privilege Management

Affects ZenTaoSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 31% 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:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X

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

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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to 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.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 30 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
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), 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 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
GitHubzentao/zentao`pkg:github/zentao/zentao`Other threats	Affected =21.7.6-8564	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

European organizations using ZenTao should immediately upgrade all affected instances to version 21.7.7 or later to remediate the vulnerability. In addition to patching, organizations should audit user privileges within ZenTao to ensure the principle of least privilege is enforced, limiting file deletion capabilities to only trusted roles. Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to restrict access to ZenTao management interfaces to authorized personnel and trusted IP ranges. Enable and regularly test backup and recovery procedures for ZenTao data to minimize impact in case of file deletion incidents. Monitor logs for unusual file deletion requests or access patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests targeting the file deletion endpoint. Finally, maintain an up-to-date inventory of ZenTao deployments and ensure timely application of security updates.

Description

A flaw has been found in ZenTao up to 21.7.6-8564. The affected element is the function file::delete of the file module/file/control.php of the component File Handler. Executing manipulation of the argument fileID can lead to improper privilege management. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. Upgrading to version 21.7.7 is sufficient to fix this issue. You should upgrade the affected component.

Impact

For European organizations, the vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized file deletions within ZenTao installations, potentially leading to loss of critical project data, disruption of software development processes, and exposure of sensitive information if backup or recovery mechanisms are inadequate. This can affect confidentiality if files containing sensitive data are deleted and integrity and availability if essential project files or documentation are removed. Organizations relying heavily on ZenTao for project management or bug tracking may experience operational delays and increased recovery costs. The remote exploitability without user interaction increases the risk of automated or targeted attacks. While no known exploits exist currently, the presence of this vulnerability in production environments could be leveraged by malicious actors to disrupt business continuity or sabotage development efforts. The impact is more pronounced in sectors with stringent data integrity requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure within Europe.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 7 Dec 2025, 10:39 UTC

Technical details

References

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