CVE-2025-61524 is a security vulnerability identified in Casdoor, an open-source identity and access management (IAM) platform, affecting versions prior to 2.26.0. The vulnerability arises from a flaw in the permission verification module and the organization/application editing interface. Specifically, remote authenticated administrators from any organization within the Casdoor system can bypass the system's permission verification mechanism by directly concatenating URLs after login. This URL manipulation allows them to circumvent intended access controls and potentially perform unauthorized actions or access sensitive data beyond their assigned permissions. The issue stems from inadequate validation and enforcement of permission checks when processing URL requests post-authentication. Although exploitation requires the attacker to have authenticated administrator privileges in at least one organization, the vulnerability effectively escalates their privileges across organizations or applications within the system. This undermines the principle of least privilege and could lead to unauthorized administrative actions, data exposure, or configuration changes. No CVSS score has been assigned yet, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability was reserved on 2025-09-26 and published on 2025-10-08. The lack of patch links suggests that users should monitor official Casdoor releases for updates addressing this issue. Given Casdoor's role in managing authentication and authorization, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems relying on it for access control.

For European organizations, this vulnerability can have serious consequences, especially for those using Casdoor as their IAM solution. The ability for an authenticated administrator to bypass permission checks can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive organizational data, manipulation of application settings, and potential disruption of services. This undermines trust in the access control mechanisms and could facilitate insider threats or lateral movement by malicious actors who have gained administrative credentials in one organization. The impact extends to data confidentiality breaches, integrity violations through unauthorized changes, and potential availability issues if critical configurations are altered. Organizations in sectors with stringent data protection regulations, such as finance, healthcare, and government, face increased compliance risks and potential legal consequences. Furthermore, multi-tenant environments where multiple organizations share the same Casdoor instance are particularly vulnerable to cross-organization privilege escalation. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate risk, but the vulnerability's nature makes it a high-value target for attackers aiming to expand their access within compromised environments.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should prioritize upgrading Casdoor to version 2.26.0 or later once the patch is officially released. Until then, organizations should implement strict URL validation and sanitization to prevent unauthorized URL concatenation that bypasses permission checks. It is advisable to audit and restrict administrator privileges to the minimum necessary scope, limiting the number of users with administrative access across organizations. Monitoring and logging of administrative actions should be enhanced to detect unusual or unauthorized activities promptly. Network segmentation and access controls can reduce the risk of lateral movement if credentials are compromised. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on IAM components to identify similar weaknesses. Finally, educating administrators about the risks of URL manipulation and enforcing multi-factor authentication can further reduce exploitation likelihood.