CVE-2025-54997 PUBLISHED

OpenBao: Privileged Operator May Execute Code on the Underlying Host

Assigner: GitHub_M
Reserved: 04.08.2025 Published: 09.08.2025 Updated: 11.08.2025

OpenBao exists to provide a software solution to manage, store, and distribute sensitive data including secrets, certificates, and keys. In versions 2.3.1 and below, some OpenBao deployments intentionally limit privileged API operators from executing system code or making network connections. However, these operators can bypass both restrictions through the audit subsystem by manipulating log prefixes. This allows unauthorized code execution and network access that violates the intended security model. This issue is fixed in version 2.3.2. To workaround, users can block access to sys/audit/* endpoints using explicit deny policies, but root operators cannot be restricted this way.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 9.1

Product Status

Vendor openbao
Product openbao
Versions
  • Version < 2.3.2 is affected

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') CWE