VulnerabilityPublished 26 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-59095: dormakaba Kaba exos 9300 · Use of Hard-coded Credentials

Affects dormakaba Kaba exos 9300Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.8 Medium : upgrade to 4.3.3 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

6.8Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.3.3

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable system is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or through terminal emulation (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., using social engineering techniques to trick a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High: There is a total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all information within the Vulnerable System being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact. For example, an attacker steals the administrator's password, or private encryption keys of a web server.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Jan 2026
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 Kaba exos 9300 and dormakaba/kaba.exos.9300 to 4.3.3.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
dormakabaKaba exos 9300	Affected <4.3.3	Fixed in 4.3.3
NuGetdormakaba/kaba.exos.9300`pkg:nuget/dormakaba/kaba.exos.9300`Other threats	Affected <4.3.3	Fixed in 4.3.3

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-2025-59095, organizations should immediately upgrade all affected Kaba exos 9300 systems to version 4.3.3 or later, where the hard-coded key issue is addressed. If you cannot patch yet, restrict local access to systems running the vulnerable software by enforcing strict physical and logical access controls and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts. Conduct thorough audits of existing user PIN storage and consider resetting PINs after patching to invalidate any potentially compromised credentials. Implement network segmentation to isolate access control systems from general IT infrastructure, reducing attack surface. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect suspicious activity indicative of attempts to extract or reverse engineer binaries. Educate staff about insider threat risks and enforce least privilege principles to minimize opportunities for exploitation. Finally, engage with dormakaba support for guidance on secure configuration and future updates.

Description

The program libraries (DLL) and binaries used by exos 9300 contain multiple hard-coded secrets. One notable example is the function "EncryptAndDecrypt" in the library Kaba.EXOS.common.dll. This algorithm uses a simple XOR encryption technique combined with a cryptographic key (cryptoKey) to transform each character of the input string. However, it's important to note that this implementation does not provide strong encryption and should not be considered secure for sensitive data. It's more of a custom encryption approach rather than a common algorithm used in cryptographic applications. The key itself is static and based on the founder's name of the company. The functionality is for example used to encrypt the user PINs before storing them in the MSSQL database.

Impact

For European organizations, especially those relying on dormakaba's Kaba exos 9300 for physical access control, this vulnerability poses a significant confidentiality risk. Exposure of user PINs could enable attackers to bypass physical security controls, potentially gaining unauthorized entry to sensitive facilities, data centers, or critical infrastructure sites. This could lead to theft, sabotage, or espionage. The impact is heightened in sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and industrial manufacturing, where physical security is tightly integrated with cybersecurity. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the compromise of authentication credentials undermines trust in the access control system. The requirement for local access limits remote exploitation but insider threats or attackers who gain initial footholds could leverage this weakness. Additionally, the static nature of the key means that once compromised, all stored PINs encrypted with it are vulnerable, increasing the scope of impact. Organizations may face regulatory and compliance consequences under GDPR if personal data is exposed due to inadequate protection mechanisms.

Summary

CVE-2025-59095 identifies a vulnerability in dormakaba's Kaba exos 9300 physical access control system software versions prior to 4.3.3. The issue stems from the presence of hard-coded secrets within the program libraries and binaries, notably in the Kaba.EXOS.common.dll library. The function "EncryptAndDecrypt" employs a simplistic XOR-based encryption algorithm combined with a static cryptographic key derived from the company founder's name. This key is embedded directly in the code and used to encrypt user PINs before storing them in an MSSQL database. XOR encryption with a static key is cryptographically weak and easily reversible once the key is known or extracted from the binary. Because the key is hard-coded and unchanging, an attacker with access to the system files or memory can decrypt stored PINs, leading to exposure of sensitive authentication data. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges but no user interaction or elevated privileges. The CVSS 4.0 score of 6.8 reflects the moderate risk due to limited attack vector (local) but high impact on confidentiality. There are no known exploits in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet, though upgrading to version 4.3.3 or later is recommended. This vulnerability falls under CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials), a common weakness that undermines cryptographic protections and can lead to credential compromise. Given the role of Kaba exos 9300 in physical access control, exploitation could allow unauthorized physical access if PINs are recovered and reused.

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key.
Architecture and Design
For outbound authentication: store passwords, keys, and other credentials outside of the code in a strongly-protected, encrypted configuration file or database that is protected from access by all outsiders, including other local users on the same system. Properly protect the key (CWE-320).
Architecture and Design
For inbound authentication: Rather than hard-code a default username and password, key, or other authentication credentials for first time logins, utilize a "first login" mode that requires the user to enter a unique strong password or key.
Architecture and Design
If the product must contain hard-coded credentials or they cannot be removed, perform access control checks and limit which entities can access the feature that requires the hard-coded credentials. For example, a feature might only be enabled through the system console instead of through a network connection.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Key Management (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
JSON Web Token for Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.10.4 (opens in a new tab)
V6.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V3.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Read Sensitive Constants Within an Executable (opens in a new tab)
Try Common or Default Usernames and Passwords (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 26 Jan 2026, 10:39 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-798

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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