VulnerabilityPublished 17 Jul 2025

CVE-2025-53964: goldendict · Exposed Dangerous Method or Function

Affects goldendictSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.6 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.6Critical

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.

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

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

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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: 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: 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: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 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 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
GitHubgoldendict/goldendict`pkg:github/goldendict/goldendict`Other threats	Affected >=1.5.0 <=1.5.1	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate the risks posed by CVE-2025-53964, European organizations should implement several specific measures beyond generic advice: 1) Immediately audit all systems for the presence of GoldenDict versions 1.5.0 and 1.5.1 and restrict or disable its use where possible until a patch is available. 2) Educate users about the risks of adding untrusted or unknown dictionaries to GoldenDict, emphasizing the dangers of opening files from unverified sources. 3) Implement application whitelisting or sandboxing for GoldenDict to limit its file system access and prevent unauthorized file modifications. 4) Monitor file system activity for unusual read/write operations originating from GoldenDict processes, using endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. 5) Network segmentation should be used to isolate systems running GoldenDict from critical infrastructure to reduce lateral movement risk. 6) Stay updated with vendor announcements for patches or official fixes and apply them promptly once available. 7) Consider deploying intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures or heuristics to detect attempts to exploit this vulnerability. These targeted mitigations will reduce the attack surface and help prevent exploitation until a formal patch is released.

Description

GoldenDict 1.5.0 and 1.5.1 has an exposed dangerous method that allows reading and modifying files when a user adds a crafted dictionary and then searches for any term included in that dictionary.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-53964 can be substantial depending on the deployment of GoldenDict within their environments. Organizations using GoldenDict for language translation, research, or educational purposes may be at risk of data breaches or data integrity issues if attackers exploit this vulnerability. The ability to read and modify files can lead to exposure of confidential information, insertion of malicious code, or disruption of normal operations. In sectors such as education, government, and multinational corporations where language tools are commonly used, this vulnerability could be leveraged for espionage or sabotage. Furthermore, if GoldenDict is installed on endpoints with access to sensitive networks or data, attackers could use this vulnerability as a foothold to escalate privileges or move laterally within the network. The requirement for user interaction (adding a crafted dictionary and searching) means that social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to trick users into triggering the exploit, increasing the risk of targeted attacks. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate widespread impact but does not preclude future exploitation, especially as awareness of the vulnerability grows.

CWE-749Exposed Dangerous Method or Function (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: LowOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product provides an Applications Programming Interface (API) or similar interface for interaction with external actors, but the interface includes a dangerous method or function that is not properly restricted.
Architecture and Design
If you must expose a method, make sure to perform input validation on all arguments, limit access to authorized parties, and protect against all possible vulnerabilities.
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Identify all exposed functionality. Explicitly list all functionality that must be exposed to some user or set of users. Identify which functionality may be: accessible to all users; restricted to a small set of privileged users; prevented from being directly accessible at all
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V14.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V10.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
WebView 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 17 Jul 2025, 20:02 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-749

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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