CVE-2025-64746: Directus Directus Has Improper Permission Handling Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9x5g-62gj-wqf2
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CVSS 4.6
CWE-284 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-64746 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.6) directus has improper permission handling vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting Directus libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves directus has improper permission handling on deleted fields. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 11.13.0.

CVE-2025-64746 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-64746
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9x5g-62gj-wqf2
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.6
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product Directus
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.6

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2025-64746

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Directus dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

directus fixed: 11.13.0 
npm install directus@11.13.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls directus

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2025-64746, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls directus

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Directus in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 11.13.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls directus command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. In Directus, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Summary Directus does not properly clean up field-level permissions when a field is deleted. If a new field with the same name is created later, the system automatically re-applies the old permissions, which can lead to unauthorized access. ### Details When a field is removed from a collection, its reference in the permissions table remains intact. This stale reference creates a security gap: if another field is later created using the same name, it inherits the outdated permission entry. This behavior can unintentionally grant roles access to data they should not be able to read or modify. The issue is particularly risky in multi-tenant or production environments, where administrators may reuse field names, assuming old permissions have been fully cleared. 1. Create a collection named test_collection. 2. Add a field called secret_field. 3. Assign a role with read permissions specifically tied to secret_field. 4. Remove the secret_field from the collection. 5. Create a new field with the exact same name secret_field. 6. Notice that the previously assigned permissions are still active, granting access to the newly created field without reconfiguration. ### Impact When creating new fields with the same name as previously deleted fields it may inherit the permissions of that previously deleted field. This can potentially result in accidentally giving access to this new field in existing policies.

CVE-2025-64746 Affected Directus Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
11.13.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
directus
npm/directus
npm
< 11.13.0
11.13.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-9x5g-62gj-wqf2
NVD — CVE-2025-64746 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64746
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/directus/directus/commit/84d7636969083387164ce5d2fd15a65e11e2d0b8
Directus Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/directus/directus

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-64746?
CVE-2025-64746 is a security vulnerability in Directus involving Directus has Improper Permission Handling on Deleted Fields under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which Directus versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 11.13.0 across affected packages: directus.
What version fixes CVE-2025-64746?
Upgrading to 11.13.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is directus affected?
Yes, directus is affected in releases prior to 11.13.0. Upgrade your dependency to 11.13.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-64746?
CVE-2025-64746 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.6 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-64746?
CVE-2025-64746 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2025-64746?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls directus'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-9x5g-62gj-wqf2",
  "modified" : "2025-11-14T21:45:15Z",
  "published" : "2025-11-14T21:45:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-64746" ],
  "summary" : "Directus has Improper Permission Handling on Deleted Fields",
  "details" : "### Summary\nDirectus does not properly clean up field-level permissions when a field is deleted. If a new field with the same name is created later, the system automatically re-applies the old permissions, which can lead to unauthorized access.\n\n### Details\nWhen a field is removed from a collection, its reference in the permissions table remains intact. This stale reference creates a security gap: if another field is later created using the same name, it inherits the outdated permission entry.  \nThis behavior can unintentionally grant roles access to data they should not be able to read or modify.\n\nThe issue is particularly risky in multi-tenant or production environments, where administrators may reuse field names, assuming old permissions have been fully cleared.\n\n\t1.\tCreate a collection named test_collection.\n\t2.\tAdd a field called secret_field.\n\t3.\tAssign a role with read permissions specifically tied to secret_field.\n\t4.\tRemove the secret_field from the collection.\n\t5.\tCreate a new field with the exact same name secret_field.\n\t6.\tNotice that the previously assigned permissions are still active, granting access to the newly created field without reconfiguration.\n\n### Impact\n\nWhen creating new fields with the same name as previously deleted fields it may inherit the permissions of that previously deleted field. This can potentially result in accidentally giving access to this new field in existing policies.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "directus"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "11.13.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-9x5g-62gj-wqf2"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64746"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/directus/directus/commit/84d7636969083387164ce5d2fd15a65e11e2d0b8"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/directus/directus"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-11-14T21:45:15Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-11-13T21:15:54Z"
  }
}