CVE-2025-69416VulnerabilityPublished 2 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-69416: plex.tv backend · Incorrect Authorization

Affects plex.tv backendSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.0 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.0Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 22% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 2 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.

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
Plexplex.tv backend	Affected <=2025-12-31	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Monitor and audit access logs for unusual or unauthorized requests to clients.plex.tv/devices.xml or similar endpoints to detect token enumeration attempts. 2. Restrict token privileges by implementing the principle of least privilege, ensuring device tokens have minimal access rights necessary for their function. 3. Enforce strong authentication and token lifecycle management, including regular token rotation and revocation of unused or suspicious tokens. 4. Apply network segmentation to isolate Plex Media Server instances from critical infrastructure to limit lateral movement if token compromise occurs. 5. Engage with Plex vendor support to obtain and deploy patches or updates addressing this vulnerability as soon as they become available. 6. Consider implementing additional access controls or multi-factor authentication for administrative interfaces managing device tokens. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks of token leakage and encourage secure handling of authentication credentials. 8. If possible, disable or restrict access to the vulnerable endpoint until a patch is applied, or implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthorized access patterns targeting devices.xml.

Description

In the plex.tv backend for Plex Media Server (PMS) through 2025-12-31, a non-server device token can retrieve other tokens (intended for unrelated access) via clients.plex.tv/devices.xml.

Impact

For European organizations using Plex Media Server, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized disclosure of device tokens, which are critical for authenticating devices within the Plex ecosystem. Exposure of these tokens could allow attackers to impersonate legitimate devices, access media content, or pivot within the network if Plex is integrated with other internal systems. Although the vulnerability does not directly compromise system integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach could lead to privacy violations, unauthorized data access, and potential reputational damage. Media companies, educational institutions, and enterprises relying on Plex for content distribution or internal media sharing are particularly at risk. The medium severity score suggests a moderate but non-trivial risk, especially in environments where token management is critical. Given the lack of known exploits, the immediate threat is limited, but the vulnerability could be targeted in the future as awareness grows. European organizations should consider the potential for lateral movement and data leakage stemming from token exposure, especially in regulated sectors where data privacy is paramount.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/lufinkey/vulnerability-research/blob/main/CVE-2025-34158/README.md (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 9 Jan 2026, 19:30 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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