CVE-2025-66385 is a critical security vulnerability identified in the Cerebrate project, affecting versions prior to 1.30. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-472, which involves external control of an assumed-immutable web parameter. Specifically, the UsersController::edit function fails to properly validate or restrict changes to the role_id and organisation_id fields in the user-edit endpoint. This flaw allows an authenticated user with non-privileged access to escalate their privileges by modifying these parameters in the HTTP request, effectively granting themselves higher roles such as admin or altering their organizational affiliation. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network without requiring user interaction and has a low attack complexity, making it highly accessible to attackers with legitimate credentials. The CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.4 reflects the critical nature of this flaw, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability affects all versions before 1.30, with no patches currently linked, and no known exploits reported in the wild. The root cause is insufficient server-side validation and improper assumptions about the immutability of certain web parameters, allowing attackers to override security controls that should restrict privilege changes. This vulnerability could lead to full system compromise, unauthorized data access, and disruption of services.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially for those relying on Cerebrate for user management or organizational workflows. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized administrative access, enabling attackers to manipulate user roles, access sensitive data, modify or delete critical information, and disrupt business operations. The compromise of administrative accounts could facilitate further lateral movement within networks, increasing the risk of data breaches and compliance violations under regulations such as GDPR. Organizations in sectors with high regulatory scrutiny, such as finance, healthcare, and government, could face severe reputational and financial damage. Additionally, the ability to alter organisation_id fields could allow attackers to impersonate or infiltrate other organizational units, complicating incident response and forensic investigations. The lack of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the critical severity demands immediate attention to prevent potential exploitation.

1. Immediate upgrade to Cerebrate version 1.30 or later once available, as this version addresses the vulnerability. 2. Until a patch is applied, implement strict server-side validation to reject any user-edit requests that attempt to modify role_id or organisation_id fields unless performed by authorized administrators. 3. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests that include unauthorized parameter modifications. 4. Conduct thorough access reviews and restrict user permissions to the minimum necessary to reduce the risk of privilege escalation. 5. Monitor logs for unusual activity related to user role changes or organization affiliation modifications. 6. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised credentials being used to exploit this vulnerability. 7. Educate developers and administrators about the risks of assuming immutability of web parameters and enforce secure coding practices to validate all user inputs. 8. Prepare incident response plans to quickly address any signs of exploitation.