CVE-2025-46647VulnerabilityPublished 2 Jul 2025Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-46647: Apache APISIX · Authentication Bypass by Assumed-Immutable Data

Affects Apache APISIXSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 3.12.0 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.12.0

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
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: 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: 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 2 Jul 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 2026-10-26.

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 Apache APISIX to 3.12.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software Foundation Apache APISIX	Affected =0 <3.12.0	Fixed in 3.12.0

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately assess their Apache APISIX deployments to determine if the openid-connect plugin is used in introspection mode with multiple issuers sharing the same private key. The primary mitigation is to upgrade Apache APISIX to version 3.12.0 or later, where this vulnerability has been patched. Additionally, organizations should avoid sharing private keys across multiple issuers and ensure that each issuer uses distinct cryptographic keys to maintain strong issuer binding. Implement strict validation of tokens to verify both issuer and cryptographic signatures independently. Conduct thorough audits of identity provider configurations to detect any insecure key sharing practices. Employ network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the authentication service. Monitoring and logging authentication attempts across issuers can help detect anomalous cross-issuer access patterns. Finally, consider deploying additional multi-factor authentication layers to reduce the risk of unauthorized access even if token validation is bypassed.

Description

A vulnerability of plugin openid-connect in Apache APISIX. This vulnerability will only have an impact if all of the following conditions are met: 1. Use the openid-connect plugin with introspection mode 2. The auth service connected to openid-connect provides services to multiple issuers 3. Multiple issuers share the same private key and relies only on the issuer being different If affected by this vulnerability, it would allow an attacker with a valid account on one of the issuers to log into the other issuer. This issue affects Apache APISIX: until 3.12.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.12.0 or higher.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access across different issuer domains within the same authentication infrastructure, potentially compromising sensitive data and services protected by Apache APISIX. Organizations using multi-issuer OpenID Connect setups with shared private keys are at risk of cross-issuer impersonation, which could undermine trust boundaries and lead to data leakage or unauthorized service access. This is particularly critical for sectors with strict data protection regulations such as finance, healthcare, and government, where identity and access management integrity is paramount. The impact is limited to confidentiality breaches without direct integrity or availability effects, but the breach of authentication boundaries can facilitate further attacks or data exfiltration. The medium severity score indicates a moderate risk that should be addressed promptly to prevent lateral movement or privilege escalation within federated identity environments.

CWE-302Authentication Bypass by Assumed-Immutable Data (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The authentication scheme or implementation uses key data elements that are assumed to be immutable, but can be controlled or modified by the attacker.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Implementation
Implement proper protection for immutable data (e.g. environment variable, hidden form fields, etc.)
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
HTTP Verb Tampering (opens in a new tab)
Accessing/Intercepting/Modifying HTTP Cookies (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Opaque Client-based Data Tokens (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 4 Nov 2025, 21:50 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-302

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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