CVE-2025-6443VulnerabilityPublished 25 Jun 2025

CVE-2025-6443: Mikrotik RouterOS · Improper Access Control

Affects Mikrotik RouterOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.2 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

7.2High

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

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 46% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
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: 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: 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 25 Jun 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mikrotik RouterOS	Affected =7.15.3 =7.16.2	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-6443 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately identify and inventory all Mikrotik RouterOS devices running affected versions (7.15.3 and 7.16.2) especially those handling VXLAN traffic. 3) Implement strict network segmentation and isolate VXLAN traffic to trusted zones only, using firewall rules to restrict ingress VXLAN packets to known and verified source IP addresses at the network perimeter. 4) Employ network intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with VXLAN protocol awareness to detect anomalous VXLAN traffic patterns or unauthorized source IP addresses. 5) Monitor RouterOS logs and VXLAN traffic flows for unusual activity indicative of access control bypass attempts. 6) Where feasible, disable VXLAN functionality on Mikrotik devices if not required or replace affected devices with alternatives until patched. 7) Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on VXLAN and RouterOS configurations to ensure no residual access control weaknesses remain. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on VXLAN-specific traffic controls, active monitoring, and device inventory management tailored to this vulnerability.

Description

Mikrotik RouterOS VXLAN Source IP Improper Access Control Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass access restrictions on affected installations of Mikrotik RouterOS. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of remote IP addresses when processing VXLAN traffic. The issue results from the lack of validation of the remote IP address against configured values prior to allowing ingress traffic into the internal network. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to gain access to internal network resources. Was ZDI-CAN-26415.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-6443 can be substantial, particularly for enterprises and service providers utilizing Mikrotik RouterOS in their network infrastructure. The ability to bypass access controls without authentication means attackers can potentially infiltrate internal networks, leading to unauthorized data access, lateral movement, and potential data exfiltration. This undermines network segmentation and perimeter defenses, increasing the risk of further compromise. Sectors such as telecommunications, finance, critical infrastructure, and government agencies that rely on VXLAN for scalable network virtualization are at heightened risk. The vulnerability could facilitate espionage, intellectual property theft, or disruption of sensitive operations. Although availability is not directly impacted, the breach of confidentiality and integrity can have cascading effects, including regulatory non-compliance under GDPR and other data protection laws, reputational damage, and financial losses. The lack of authentication requirement lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing the threat landscape for European organizations.

CWE-284Improper Access Control (opens in a new tab)
Pillar weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #19OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Operation
Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Virtual Patching (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.10.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Embedding Scripts within Scripts (opens in a new tab)
Modification of Windows Service Configuration (opens in a new tab)
Malicious Root Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Intent Spoof (opens in a new tab)
WebView Exposure (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-424/ (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 25 Jun 2025, 21:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-284

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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