CVE-2025-68267 is a vulnerability identified in JetBrains TeamCity, a widely used continuous integration and deployment server, affecting versions prior to 2025.11.1. The root cause is the storage and use of GitHub personal access tokens (PATs) instead of the more restrictive GitHub installation tokens. PATs generally have broader privileges and longer lifetimes, which can lead to excessive privilege escalation (CWE-272: Improper Authorization). This misconfiguration allows an attacker who can access the token to perform actions beyond the intended scope, potentially accessing or modifying repositories and CI/CD configurations. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction, increasing its risk profile. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level with low confidentiality and integrity impact and no availability impact. No exploits have been reported in the wild yet, but the flaw's nature suggests that attackers could leverage it to escalate privileges within the CI/CD environment, potentially leading to unauthorized code changes or pipeline manipulation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of using least-privilege tokens and proper credential management in CI/CD tools integrated with external services like GitHub.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-68267 can be significant, especially for those heavily reliant on JetBrains TeamCity for software development and deployment pipelines. Excessive privileges granted by the misuse of GitHub personal access tokens could allow attackers to access sensitive source code repositories, modify build configurations, or inject malicious code into software releases. This could lead to intellectual property theft, supply chain compromise, and reputational damage. The risk is heightened in sectors with stringent regulatory requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where unauthorized changes could violate compliance mandates or disrupt operations. Although no availability impact is expected, the integrity and confidentiality risks could undermine trust in software delivery processes. The vulnerability's network-exploitable nature without authentication means attackers could potentially exploit it remotely if they gain access to the token or the TeamCity environment, emphasizing the need for prompt remediation.

To mitigate CVE-2025-68267, organizations should upgrade JetBrains TeamCity to version 2025.11.1 or later as soon as the patch is available. Until then, review and audit all GitHub tokens used within TeamCity, replacing personal access tokens with GitHub installation tokens that have more restrictive scopes and limited lifetimes. Implement strict access controls and monitoring around CI/CD credentials and secrets management. Employ network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to TeamCity servers. Enable logging and alerting on unusual token usage or repository access patterns. Conduct regular security reviews of CI/CD pipelines and integrate automated secret scanning tools to detect exposed tokens. Educate development and DevOps teams about the risks of using overly permissive tokens and enforce policies for least privilege. Additionally, consider multi-factor authentication and token rotation policies to reduce the risk of token compromise.