CVE-2025-68456: Craftcms/cms Unauthenticated Craft CMS Users Can Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-v64r-7wg9-23pr
Share
CWE-202 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-68456 is a HIGH unauthenticated craft cms users can vulnerability (CWE-202: Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries) affecting Craftcms/cms libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves unauthenticated craft cms users can trigger a database backup. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.8.21, 4.16.17.

CVE-2025-68456 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-68456
GHSA Identifier GHSA-v64r-7wg9-23pr
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-202: Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries
Affected Product Craftcms/cms
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-68456

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

craftcms/cms fixed: 5.8.21 
Upgrade craftcms/cms to 5.8.21
craftcms/cms fixed: 4.16.17 
Upgrade craftcms/cms to 4.16.17
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-68456, inspect your project dependencies for Craftcms/cms:

inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Craftcms/cms in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.8.21), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-202: Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries, where when trying to keep information confidential, an attacker can often infer some of the information by using statistics. In Craftcms/cms, 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

Unauthenticated users can trigger database backup operations the `updater/backup` action, potentially leading to resource exhaustion or information disclosure. Users should update to the patched versions (5.8.21 and 4.16.17) to mitigate the issue. Craft 3 users should update to the latest Craft 4 and 5 releases, which include the fixes. References: https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/f83d4e0c6b906743206b4747db4abf8164b8da39 https://github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5.x/CHANGELOG.md#5821---2025-12-04 ## Affected Endpoints - `POST /admin/actions/updater/backup` (unauthenticated) ## Vulnerability Details ### Root Cause All `updater/*` actions are explicitly configured with anonymous access: ```php // BaseUpdaterController.php protected array|bool|int $allowAnonymous = self::ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_LIVE | self::ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_OFFLINE; ``` ### Attack Vector 1. Send unauthenticated POST request to `/admin/actions/updater/backup` 2. Database backup executes with configured `backupCommand`

CVE-2025-68456 Affected Craftcms/cms Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.8.214.16.17
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
craftcms/cms
 Packagist
≥ 5.0.0-RC1
< 5.8.21
5.8.21
craftcms/cms
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 4.16.17
4.16.17

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/craftcms/cms/security/advisories/GHSA-v64r-7wg9-23pr
NVD — CVE-2025-68456 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68456
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/f83d4e0c6b906743206b4747db4abf8164b8da39
Craftcms/cms Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/craftcms/cms
Craftcms/cms Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5.x/CHANGELOG.md#5821---2025-12-04

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-68456?
CVE-2025-68456 is a security vulnerability in Craftcms/cms involving Unauthenticated Craft CMS users can trigger a database backup under CWE-202: Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries.
Which Craftcms/cms versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.8.21, 4.16.17 across affected packages: craftcms/cms.
What version fixes CVE-2025-68456?
Upgrading to 5.8.21, 4.16.17 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is craftcms/cms affected?
Yes, craftcms/cms is affected in releases prior to 5.8.21, 4.16.17. Upgrade your dependency to 5.8.21, 4.16.17 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-68456?
CVE-2025-68456 is classified under CWE-202: Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries (When trying to keep information confidential, an attacker can often infer some of the information by using statistics.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2025-68456?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for craftcms/cms'. 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-v64r-7wg9-23pr",
  "modified" : "2026-01-09T03:11:23Z",
  "published" : "2026-01-05T18:49:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-68456" ],
  "summary" : "Unauthenticated Craft CMS users can trigger a database backup",
  "details" : "Unauthenticated users can trigger database backup operations the `updater/backup` action, potentially leading to resource exhaustion or information disclosure.\n\nUsers should update to the patched versions (5.8.21 and 4.16.17) to mitigate the issue.\n\nCraft 3 users should update to the latest Craft 4 and 5 releases, which include the fixes.\n\nReferences:\n\nhttps://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/f83d4e0c6b906743206b4747db4abf8164b8da39\n\nhttps://github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5.x/CHANGELOG.md#5821---2025-12-04\n\n## Affected Endpoints\n\n- `POST /admin/actions/updater/backup` (unauthenticated)\n\n## Vulnerability Details\n\n### Root Cause\nAll `updater/*` actions are explicitly configured with anonymous access:\n\n```php\n// BaseUpdaterController.php  \nprotected array|bool|int $allowAnonymous = self::ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_LIVE | self::ALLOW_ANONYMOUS_OFFLINE;\n```\n\n### Attack Vector\n1. Send unauthenticated POST request to `/admin/actions/updater/backup`\n2. Database backup executes with configured `backupCommand`",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "craftcms/cms"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.0.0-RC1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.8.21"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 5.8.20"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "craftcms/cms"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.16.17"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 4.16.16"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/security/advisories/GHSA-v64r-7wg9-23pr"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68456"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/commit/f83d4e0c6b906743206b4747db4abf8164b8da39"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5.x/CHANGELOG.md#5821---2025-12-04"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-202", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-01-05T18:49:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-01-05T22:15:52Z"
  }
}