VulnerabilityPublished 5 Feb 2025Updated 23 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-23419: F5 NGINX Open Source · Incorrect Authorization

Affects F5 NGINX Open SourceSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 2.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 86% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
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: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
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: 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: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 5 Feb 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
F5 NGINX Open Source	Affected =1.11.4	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-23419, organizations should first identify if they are running the affected NGINX Open Source version 1.11.4 with multiple server blocks sharing the same IP and port and enforcing client certificate authentication on the default server. Immediate steps include disabling TLS session tickets by setting 'ssl_session_tickets off;' in the NGINX configuration for the default server. Additionally, disable or carefully configure the SSL session cache to prevent session resumption from bypassing authentication. Where possible, segregate server blocks to use distinct IP addresses or ports to avoid shared session contexts. Monitor network traffic for unusual TLS session resumption patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Plan to upgrade to a patched version of NGINX once released by F5. Implement network segmentation and strict access controls to limit attacker access to the network layer. Finally, review and enhance logging and alerting on TLS authentication failures and session resumptions to detect potential abuse.

Description

When multiple server blocks are configured to share the same IP address and port, an attacker can use session resumption to bypass client certificate authentication requirements on these servers. This vulnerability arises when TLS Session Tickets https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_ssl_module.html#ssl_session_ticket_key are used and/or the SSL session cache https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_ssl_module.html#ssl_session_cache are used in the default server and the default server is performing client certificate authentication. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk to systems relying on client certificate authentication for secure access control, especially in sectors like finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure. Unauthorized bypass of client certificate checks can lead to exposure of sensitive data or unauthorized access to internal services. Since the vulnerability affects TLS session resumption, attackers with network access could impersonate legitimate clients without needing to present valid certificates, undermining trust in authentication mechanisms. This could facilitate lateral movement within networks or unauthorized data exfiltration. The impact is heightened in multi-tenant or shared hosting environments where multiple server blocks share IP addresses and ports. Given the medium severity and absence of known exploits, the immediate risk is moderate but could escalate if exploit code emerges. Organizations with compliance requirements around strong authentication (e.g., GDPR, NIS Directive) must consider this vulnerability seriously to avoid regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (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 24 Jan 2026, 19:17 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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