VulnerabilityPublished 13 Jun 2025Updated 27 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-28381: cosmos · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable

Affects cosmosSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 6.0.2 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 44% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 6.0.2

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
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: 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: 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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
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 13 Jun 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

Upgrade openc3/cosmos to 6.0.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubopenc3/cosmos`pkg:github/openc3/cosmos`Other threats	Affected <6.0.2	Fixed in 6.0.2

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-28381, European organizations should immediately upgrade OpenC3 COSMOS to version 6.0.2 or later, where the credential leakage issue has been addressed. If you cannot patch yet, organizations should audit container configurations to identify and remove any sensitive credentials stored as environment variables. Implementing secrets management solutions that avoid embedding credentials directly in environment variables is recommended, such as using dedicated secret stores or vaults with controlled access. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit exposure of container management interfaces to trusted networks only. Monitoring and logging access to container environments can help detect suspicious activities related to credential access. Additionally, organizations should review and rotate any potentially exposed credentials to prevent misuse. Security teams should also educate developers and operators about secure handling of credentials in containerized environments to prevent similar issues.

Description

A credential leak in OpenC3 COSMOS before v6.0.2 allows attackers to access service credentials as environment variables stored in all containers.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-28381 is substantial due to the potential exposure of sensitive service credentials that could lead to unauthorized access to internal services, data breaches, and lateral movement within networks. Organizations relying on OpenC3 COSMOS for container orchestration, particularly in sectors such as finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure, face increased risk of compromise. Credential leakage undermines confidentiality and can facilitate subsequent attacks like privilege escalation or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's network accessibility and lack of required privileges mean attackers can exploit it remotely, increasing the attack surface. This is particularly concerning for European entities subject to strict data protection regulations like GDPR, where credential exposure could result in regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Additionally, the widespread adoption of containerized environments in Europe amplifies the potential scope and impact of this vulnerability.

CWE-526Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product uses an environment variable to store unencrypted sensitive information.
Architecture and Design
Encrypt information stored in the environment variable to protect it from being exposed to an unauthorized user. If encryption is not feasible or is considered too expensive for the business use of the application, then consider using a properly protected configuration file instead of an environment variable.
Implementation
If the environment variable is not necessary for the desired behavior, then remove it entirely, or clear it to an empty value.
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2025, 03:59 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-526

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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