Experience Manager: Use of Hard-coded Credentials
CVE-2025-34509 is a high-severity use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability in Experience Manager from Sitecore, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE, 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE, 10.3 as the first without the flaw, so updating Experience Manager to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 56.2% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is in the top 0.93% of all scored CVEs.
Exploitation in the next 30 days is more likely than not, according to EPSS.
What to do
- Update Experience Manager to 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE or 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE or 10.3 or 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Experience Platform to 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE or 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE or 10.3 or 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on support.sitecore.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitecore | Experience Manager | 10.4 up to, but not including, 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE; 10.3 up to, but not including, 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE; 10.2 up to, but not including, 10.3; 10.1 up to, but not including, 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE | 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE, 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE, 10.3, 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE |
| Sitecore | Experience Platform | 10.4 up to, but not including, 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE; 10.3 up to, but not including, 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE; 10.2 up to, but not including, 10.3; 10.1 up to, but not including, 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE | 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE, 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE, 10.3, 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE |
| Sitecore | Experience Commerce | 9.0 through 10.4 | Not stated |
| Sitecore | Managed Cloud | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | High | NVD |
Official description
Sitecore Experience Manager (XM) and Experience Platform (XP) versions 10.1 to 10.1.4 rev. 011974 PRE, all versions of 10.2, 10.3 to 10.3.3 rev. 011967 PRE, and 10.4 to 10.4.1 rev. 011941 PRE contain a hardcoded user account. Unauthenticated and remote attackers can use this account to access administrative API over HTTP.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use of Hard-coded Credentials
The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For outbound authentication: store passwords, keys, and other credentials outside of the code in a strongly-protected, encrypted configuration file or database that is protected from access by all outsiders, including other local users on the same system. Properly protect the key (CWE-320). If you cannot use encryption to protect the file, then make sure that the permissions are as restrictive as possible. In Windows environments, the Encrypted File System (EFS) may provide some protection.
- For inbound authentication: Rather than hard-code a default username and password, key, or other authentication credentials for first time logins, utilize a first login mode that requires the user to enter a unique strong password or key.
- If the product must contain hard-coded credentials or they cannot be removed, perform access control checks and limit which entities can access the feature that requires the hard-coded credentials. For example, a feature might only be enabled through the system console instead of through a network connection.
More Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerabilities (CWE-798)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)
- labs.watchtowr.com/is-b-for-backdoor-pre-auth-rce-chain-in-sitecore-experience-platform/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
Other vulnerabilities in Experience Manager
- 9.0 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
Recent Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerabilities
- 8.1 High severity
- 9.4 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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