CVE-2025-68454: craftcms cms · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine
Affects craftcms cmsSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.2 Medium : upgrade to 5.8.21 or 4.16.17 when convenient.
Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 60% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 5.8.21, 4.16.17
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:UExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 5 Jan 2026
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.
What to do
Upgrade craftcms cms to 5.8.21 or 4.16.17.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| craftcmscms | Affected
| Fixed in
|
GitHubcraftcms/cmspkg:github/craftcms/cmsOther threats | Affected– | Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
1. Immediately upgrade Craft CMS installations to versions 5.8.21 or 4.16.17 where the vulnerability is patched. 2. Disable the allowAdminChanges setting in all non-development environments to prevent unauthorized administrative changes. 3. Restrict access to the Craft Control Panel strictly to trusted administrators using network segmentation, VPNs, or IP whitelisting. 4. Audit user roles and permissions to ensure only necessary accounts have access to the System Messages utility and other template-editing features. 5. Implement strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts with control panel access. 6. Monitor logs for suspicious template input or unusual activity in the control panel and system messages. 7. Conduct regular security reviews and penetration testing focused on template injection and code execution vectors. 8. Educate administrators about the risks of enabling allowAdminChanges in production and enforce secure configuration baselines. 9. Consider web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious Twig template payloads if patching is delayed. 10. Maintain an incident response plan to quickly address any suspected exploitation.
Description
CVE-2025-68454 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Craft CMS versions 4.0.0-RC1 through 4.16.16 and 5.0.0-RC1 through 5.8.20 that allows authenticated users to perform remote code execution (RCE) via Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) in Twig templates. Exploitation requires administrator access with allowAdminChanges enabled or non-admin access with System Messages utility permissions.