CVE-2025-59535: DotNetNuke.Core DNN Allows Loading Unused Themes Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wq2j-w9pm-7x2p
Share
CVSS 6.5
CWE-829 CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-59535 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.5) dnn allows loading unused themes vulnerability (CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere) affecting DotNetNuke.Core libraries in the NuGet ecosystem. The issue involves dnn allows loading unused themes on anonymous clients through query parameters. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 10.1.0.

CVE-2025-59535 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-59535
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wq2j-w9pm-7x2p
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere
Affected Product DotNetNuke.Core
Package Ecosystem NuGet
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2025-59535

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

DotNetNuke.Core fixed: 10.1.0 
Upgrade DotNetNuke.Core to 10.1.0
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 DotNetNuke.Core

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-59535, inspect your project dependencies for DotNetNuke.Core:

inspect dependencies for DotNetNuke.Core

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of DotNetNuke.Core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 10.1.0), 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-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere, where the product imports, requires, or includes executable functionality (such as a library) from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere. In DotNetNuke.Core, 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 Arbitrary themes can be loaded through query parameters. If an installed theme had a vulnerability, even if it was not used on any page, this could be loaded on unsuspecting clients without knowledge of the site owner. ### Details Many people who run DNN sites have a number of installed themes that they do not actually use. This could be because they were testing many themes during initial setup, because they have changed themes over time, or because they have development and production versions of a theme. Whatever the reason, many times the unused themes will become outdated over time as site admins wouldn't have reason to update something that is not used. However, this could introduce an entry point to exploit a vulnerable theme by making the server run the unused theme for unsuspecting client requests. Depending on the vulnerability in a theme, this could lead to server side or client side arbitrary code execution. With DNN 10.1.0 this functionality is now disabled by default but a setting was introduced in the Security module to turn activate the functionality.

CVE-2025-59535 Affected DotNetNuke.Core Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
10.1.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
DotNetNuke.Core
nuget/DotNetNuke.Core
NuGet
< 10.1.0
10.1.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/security/advisories/GHSA-wq2j-w9pm-7x2p
NVD — CVE-2025-59535 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59535
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/commit/72f30f69fd2214d77f6c2577dfcca495a24caf5c
dnncommunity.org/ WEB
https://dnncommunity.org/?SkinSrc=%5BG%5Dskins%2Fxcillion%2Fhome&ContainerSrc=%5BG%5DContainers%2FXcillion%2FNoTitle
DotNetNuke.Core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform
DotNetNuke.Core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/blob/develop/DNN%20Platform/Library/UI/Skins/Skin.cs#L305

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-59535?
CVE-2025-59535 is a security vulnerability in DotNetNuke.Core involving DNN allows loading unused themes on anonymous clients through query parameters under CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere.
Which DotNetNuke.Core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 10.1.0 across affected packages: DotNetNuke.Core.
What version fixes CVE-2025-59535?
Upgrading to 10.1.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is DotNetNuke.Core affected?
Yes, DotNetNuke.Core is affected in releases prior to 10.1.0. Upgrade your dependency to 10.1.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-59535?
CVE-2025-59535 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-59535?
CVE-2025-59535 is classified under CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere (The product imports, requires, or includes executable functionality (such as a library) from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere.).
How can I check NuGet dependencies for CVE-2025-59535?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for DotNetNuke.Core'. 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-wq2j-w9pm-7x2p",
  "modified" : "2025-09-22T21:59:35Z",
  "published" : "2025-09-22T21:10:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-59535" ],
  "summary" : "DNN allows loading unused themes on anonymous clients through query parameters",
  "details" : "### Summary\nArbitrary themes can be loaded through query parameters. If an installed theme had a vulnerability, even if it was not used on any page, this could be loaded on unsuspecting clients without knowledge of the site owner.\n\n### Details\nMany people who run DNN sites have a number of installed themes that they do not actually use. This could be because they were testing many themes during initial setup, because they have changed themes over time, or because they have development and production versions of a theme. Whatever the reason, many times the unused themes will become outdated over time as site admins wouldn't have reason to update something that is not used. However, this could introduce an entry point to exploit a vulnerable theme by making the server run the unused theme for unsuspecting client requests. Depending on the vulnerability in a theme, this could lead to server side or client side arbitrary code execution. With DNN 10.1.0 this functionality is now disabled by default but a setting was introduced in the Security module to turn activate the functionality.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "NuGet",
      "name" : "DotNetNuke.Core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.1.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/security/advisories/GHSA-wq2j-w9pm-7x2p"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59535"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/commit/72f30f69fd2214d77f6c2577dfcca495a24caf5c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://dnncommunity.org/?SkinSrc=%5BG%5Dskins%2Fxcillion%2Fhome&ContainerSrc=%5BG%5DContainers%2FXcillion%2FNoTitle"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/blob/develop/DNN%20Platform/Library/UI/Skins/Skin.cs#L305"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20", "CWE-829" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-09-22T21:10:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-09-22T21:16:00Z"
  }
}