CVE-2025-14761VulnerabilityPublished 17 Dec 2025

CVE-2025-14761: AWS SDK for PHP · Weak Cryptography

Affects AWS SDK for PHPSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 3.368.0 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.368.0

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, 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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Dec 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 2026-10-25.

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

Upgrade aws/aws-sdk-php to 3.368.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Packagistaws/aws-sdk-php`pkg:composer/aws/aws-sdk-php`Other threats	Affected <3.368.0	Fixed in 3.368.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Upgrade the AWS SDK for PHP to version 3.368.0 or later immediately to incorporate the cryptographic key commitment fix. 2. Audit and tighten S3 bucket permissions to enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring only trusted users and services have write access. 3. Implement monitoring and alerting on S3 bucket write operations to detect unusual or unauthorized changes to encryption-related files, including instruction files. 4. Review and enhance encryption key management policies, including key rotation and validation procedures, to detect anomalies in encrypted data keys. 5. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on cloud storage encryption workflows to identify potential weaknesses. 6. Educate development and operations teams about secure usage of AWS SDKs and the importance of applying security patches promptly. 7. Consider using AWS CloudTrail and AWS Config rules to track and enforce compliance with encryption and access control policies. 8. If feasible, implement additional cryptographic integrity checks at the application layer to detect tampering beyond SDK-level protections.

Description

CVE-2025-14761 is a medium-severity vulnerability in the AWS SDK for PHP involving the use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm. The issue arises from a missing cryptographic key commitment when encrypted data keys (EDKs) are stored in an instruction file rather than S3 metadata. This flaw allows a user with write access to an S3 bucket to introduce a malicious EDK that decrypts to different plaintext, potentially compromising data integrity. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or availability directly and requires low privileges but high attack complexity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. AWS has addressed this vulnerability in SDK version 3.368.0 and later. European organizations using AWS SDK for PHP with S3 encryption should prioritize upgrading to mitigate risks. Countries with significant AWS adoption and critical cloud infrastructure are more likely to be affected.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability primarily threatens data integrity within cloud storage environments using AWS SDK for PHP with S3 encryption. Attackers with write access to S3 buckets could manipulate encrypted data keys to alter decrypted content, potentially leading to corrupted data, unauthorized data modifications, or application malfunctions relying on the integrity of stored data. This could impact sectors handling sensitive or regulated data, such as finance, healthcare, and government, where data integrity is critical for compliance and operational trust. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity compromise could lead to indirect consequences like erroneous decision-making, data loss through corrupted backups, or reputational damage. The medium CVSS score reflects moderate risk, but the widespread use of AWS services in Europe and the criticality of cloud infrastructure elevate the importance of addressing this vulnerability promptly. Organizations with lax S3 bucket permissions or legacy SDK versions are at higher risk. The absence of known exploits suggests a window for proactive mitigation before active attacks emerge.

CWE-327Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A04:2025: Cryptographic Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
When there is a need to store or transmit sensitive data, use strong, up-to-date cryptographic algorithms to encrypt that data. Select a well-vetted algorithm that is currently considered to be strong by experts in the field, and use well-tested implementations.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that the design allows one cryptographic algorithm to be replaced with another in the next generation or version. Where possible, use wrappers to make the interfaces uniform. This will make it easier to upgrade to stronger algorithms.
Architecture and Design
Carefully manage and protect cryptographic keys (see CWE-320). If the keys can be guessed or stolen, then the strength of the cryptography itself is irrelevant.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Cryptographic Storage (opens in a new tab)
Key Management (opens in a new tab)
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
User Privacy Protection (opens in a new tab)
Password Storage (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.7 (opens in a new tab)
V2.9.3 (opens in a new tab)
V6.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Encryption Brute Forcing (opens in a new tab)
Creating a Rogue Certification Authority Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoof (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation (opens in a new tab)
Cryptanalysis of Cellular Encryption (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Dec 2025, 22:00 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-327

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats