VulnerabilityPublished 14 Jan 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-23019: IETF IPv6 · Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel

Affects IETF IPv6Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.4 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.4Medium

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

EPSS: 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 62% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
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 impacted component.
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 on 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 14 Jan 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 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
IETF IPv6	Affected =6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement strict ingress and egress filtering on network interfaces that handle IPv6-in-IPv4 tunneled traffic to ensure only legitimate source addresses are accepted. Network administrators must audit and restrict which interfaces are exposed to tunneled traffic and disable IPv6 tunneling where native IPv6 connectivity is available. Deploying deep packet inspection (DPI) tools capable of validating tunneling protocols can help detect and block spoofed packets. Monitoring network traffic for anomalies in tunneled IPv6 flows is critical to early detection of exploitation attempts. Organizations should also review firewall and router configurations to enforce source address validation and consider segmenting networks to limit the exposure of critical assets to tunneled traffic. Since no patches are currently available, these network-level controls are essential. Additionally, updating network device firmware and software when vendors release patches addressing this vulnerability is recommended. Training network security teams on this specific threat will improve incident response readiness.

Description

IPv6-in-IPv4 tunneling (RFC 4213) allows an attacker to spoof and route traffic via an exposed network interface.

Impact

For European organizations, the vulnerability could lead to unauthorized interception and manipulation of IPv6 traffic tunneled over IPv4, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive communications. This is particularly concerning for sectors relying on IPv6 transition technologies, such as telecommunications, financial services, and critical infrastructure operators. Attackers exploiting this flaw could perform man-in-the-middle attacks, data exfiltration, or traffic rerouting, potentially bypassing security controls. The impact is heightened in environments with exposed network interfaces that accept tunneled traffic without strict source validation. Given the medium CVSS score and the complexity of exploitation, the threat is moderate but significant enough to warrant proactive mitigation, especially in networks with high IPv6 adoption or where IPv6 tunneling is integral to connectivity. The lack of availability impact reduces the risk of denial-of-service but does not diminish the confidentiality and integrity concerns.

CWE-940Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product establishes a communication channel to handle an incoming request that has been initiated by an actor, but it does not properly verify that the request is coming from the expected origin.
Architecture and Design
Use a mechanism that can validate the identity of the source, such as a certificate, and validate the integrity of data to ensure that it cannot be modified in transit using an Adversary-in-the-Middle (AITM) attack.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.14.1 (opens in a new tab)
V14.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
V14.5.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
WebView Injection (opens in a new tab)
Connection Reset (opens in a new tab)
TCP RST Injection (opens in a new tab)
Traffic Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 21:28 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-940

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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