VulnerabilityPublished 24 Jun 2025Updated 25 Jun 2025

CVE-2025-6533: xxyopen novel-plus · Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay

Affects xxyopen novel-plusSource CVE Database V5

Public exploit available · CVSS 6.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

6.3Medium

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

Base metrics

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

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: POC

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, 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: High: The successful attack depends on the evasion or circumvention of security-enhancing techniques in place that would otherwise hinder the attack. These include: Evasion of exploit mitigation techniques, for example, circumvention of address space randomization (ASLR) or data execution prevention (DEP) must be performed for the attack to be successful; Obtaining target-specific secrets. The attacker must gather some target-specific secret before the attack can be successful. A secret is any piece of information that cannot be obtained through any amount of reconnaissance. To obtain the secret the attacker must perform additional attacks or break otherwise secure measures (e.g. knowledge of a secret key may be needed to break a crypto channel). This operation must be performed for each attacked target.
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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system 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 Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system 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 to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to 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.
Exploit Maturity: POC: Based on threat intelligence sources each of the following must apply: · Proof-of-concept is publicly available · No knowledge of reported attempts to exploit this vulnerability · No knowledge of publicly available solutions used to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: evidence found.
CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public
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), CVSS vector, 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
xxyopen novel-plus	Affected 5.1.0 – 5.1.3 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation should include restricting external access to the affected ajaxLogin endpoint by implementing network-level controls such as IP whitelisting, VPN access, or web application firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block replayed CAPTCHA tokens.
Deploy monitoring and logging focused on authentication attempts, especially repeated or anomalous login requests that may indicate replay attacks.
Implement additional multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms independent of the vulnerable CAPTCHA system to add a layer of security.
If possible, disable or replace the vulnerable CAPTCHA handler with a more secure alternative that includes nonce or timestamp validation to prevent replay.
Engage in active threat hunting for signs of exploitation and prepare incident response plans tailored to potential unauthorized access scenarios.
7. Regularly check for vendor updates or community patches and plan for timely application once available. 8. Educate administrators and users about the risks and signs of compromise related to this vulnerability.

Description

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in xxyopen/201206030 novel-plus up to 5.1.3. Affected by this issue is the function ajaxLogin of the file novel-admin/src/main/java/com/java2nb/system/controller/LoginController.java of the component CATCHA Handler. The manipulation leads to authentication bypass by capture-replay. The attack may be launched remotely. The complexity of an attack is rather high. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Impact

For European organizations using xxyopen novel-plus versions 5.1.0 to 5.1.3, this vulnerability presents a significant risk of unauthorized access to administrative or user accounts. This could lead to data breaches, unauthorized modifications, or disruption of services relying on the affected software. Given that novel-plus is a specialized product, organizations in sectors such as publishing, digital content management, or software development that utilize this platform may be particularly impacted. The ability to bypass authentication remotely without user interaction increases the threat surface, especially for internet-facing deployments. Although exploitation complexity is high, the public disclosure of exploit details raises the likelihood of targeted attacks, particularly against high-value targets. The lack of vendor response and patches exacerbates the risk, potentially leading to prolonged exposure. Confidentiality could be compromised through unauthorized data access, integrity through unauthorized changes, and availability if attackers disrupt services or lock out legitimate users. This vulnerability could also be leveraged as a foothold for further lateral movement within networks.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Jun 2025, 00:24 UTC

Technical details

References

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