VulnerabilityPublished 26 Dec 2025Updated 27 Dec 2025

CVE-2025-57403: cola_dnslog · CVE-2025-57403 is a high-severity directory traversal

Affects cola_dnslogSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 1.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 63% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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 26 Dec 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
GitHubabelche/cola_dnslog`pkg:github/abelche/cola_dnslog`Other threats	Affected =1.3.2	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 CVE-2025-57403, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Apply any available patches or updates from Cola Dnslog vendors as soon as they are released. 2) If patches are unavailable, implement input validation and sanitization on DNS query parameters to reject or neutralize directory traversal sequences before they reach the file system layer. 3) Employ strict file system access controls and sandboxing to limit the directories accessible by Cola Dnslog processes, preventing unauthorized file reads even if traversal occurs. 4) Monitor DNS query logs for suspicious patterns indicative of traversal attempts, such as queries containing '../' or absolute path indicators. 5) Restrict network exposure of Cola Dnslog services to trusted internal networks or VPNs to reduce the attack surface. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on DNS logging infrastructure. 7) Educate security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid detection and response. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific nature of the vulnerability and the operational context of Cola Dnslog deployments.

Description

CVE-2025-57403 is a high-severity directory traversal vulnerability in Cola Dnslog v1.3.2. The flaw arises when processing DNS TXT record queries, where user-supplied URL components are concatenated with a base path using os.path.join without proper sanitization. This allows attackers to perform directory traversal or absolute path injection, potentially exposing sensitive files on the server. The vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the impact on confidentiality is significant. European organizations using Cola Dnslog for DNS logging or monitoring should prioritize patching or mitigating this issue.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-57403 is the potential exposure of sensitive internal files due to unauthorized directory traversal. This can lead to leakage of confidential information, including credentials, internal configurations, or proprietary data, which could facilitate further attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability directly, the immediate risk is data confidentiality compromise. However, the exposure of sensitive files could indirectly enable more severe attacks. Organizations in sectors with stringent data protection requirements (e.g., finance, healthcare, government) face heightened regulatory and reputational risks if such data is leaked. Additionally, as the vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, attackers can target exposed Cola Dnslog instances over the internet or internal networks, increasing the attack surface. The absence of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the high CVSS score indicates that exploitation could be straightforward once a working exploit is developed.

CWE-23Relative Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
Operation · Firewall
Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Relative Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (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 3 Jan 2026, 00:12 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-23

Technical details

References

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