CVE-2025-55740VulnerabilityPublished 19 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-55740: Anipaleja nginx-defender · Use of Default Credentials

Affects Anipaleja nginx-defenderSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 1.5.0 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.5.0

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
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: 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: 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 19 Aug 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 2026-10-25.

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 Anipaleja nginx-defender to 1.5.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Anipaleja nginx-defender	Affected <1.5.0	Fixed in 1.5.0

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, organizations should: 1) Immediately upgrade all nginx-defender deployments to version 1.5.0 or later, where the default credential issue is resolved. 2) Conduct a thorough audit of existing nginx-defender configurations to identify any instances where default credentials remain in use. 3) Enforce strict configuration management policies that mandate changing all default passwords before deployment, including in example or template files. 4) Implement network segmentation and access controls to restrict network access to the WAF management interfaces only to trusted administrative hosts and personnel. 5) Enable and monitor detailed logging and alerting on administrative access to detect any unauthorized attempts promptly. 6) Consider integrating multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access if supported by the product or via external access control mechanisms. 7) Educate system administrators and DevOps teams about the risks of default credentials and the importance of secure configuration practices. 8) Regularly review and update security policies to include checks for default credentials in all deployed software components.

Description

nginx-defender is a high-performance, enterprise-grade Web Application Firewall (WAF) and threat detection system engineered for modern web infrastructure. This is a configuration vulnerability affecting nginx-defender deployments. Example configuration files config.yaml and docker-compose.yml contain default credentials (default_password: "change_me_please", GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123). If users deploy nginx-defender without changing these defaults, attackers with network access could gain administrative control, bypassing security protections. The issue is addressed in v1.5.0 and later.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for those relying on nginx-defender as a critical component of their web security infrastructure. Unauthorized administrative access to the WAF can lead to the disabling or modification of security rules, allowing attackers to bypass protections and potentially compromise sensitive data or web services. This undermines the confidentiality and integrity of web applications and data processed by these systems. Given that the vulnerability does not affect availability directly, denial-of-service is less of a concern, but the stealthy nature of administrative compromise can facilitate prolonged undetected attacks. Organizations in sectors with strict data protection regulations, such as finance, healthcare, and government, face increased risk of regulatory non-compliance and reputational damage if this vulnerability is exploited. Additionally, since exploitation requires only network access and no user interaction, attackers within the same network segment or those who can reach the WAF over the internet (if exposed) can exploit this vulnerability, increasing the attack surface.

CWE-1392Use of Default Credentials (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses default credentials (such as passwords or cryptographic keys) for potentially critical functionality.
Requirements
Prohibit use of default, hard-coded, or other values that do not vary for each installation of the product - especially for separate organizations.
Architecture and Design
Force the administrator to change the credential upon installation.
Installation · Operation
The product administrator could change the defaults upon installation or during operation.
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)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/Anipaleja/nginx-defender/security/advisories/GHSA-pr72-8fxw-xx22 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 Aug 2025, 20:18 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1392

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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