CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-64717NVD status: Analyzed

zitadel: Improper Authentication

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-64717 is a critical-severity improper authentication vulnerability in zitadel, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected zitadel versions: >= 4.0.0-rc.1, < 4.6.6; >= 3.0.0-rc.1, < 3.4.4; >= 2.50.0, < 2.71.19. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of zitadel you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Zitadelzitadel>= 4.0.0-rc.1, < 4.6.6; >= 3.0.0-rc.1, < 3.4.4; >= 2.50.0, < 2.71.19Not 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
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.07.4HighCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD

Official description

ZITADEL is an open source identity management platform. Starting in version 2.50.0 and prior to versions 2.71.19, 3.4.4, and 4.6.6, a vulnerability in ZITADEL's federation process allowed auto-linking users from external identity providers to existing users in ZITADEL even if the corresponding IdP was not active or if the organization did not allow federated authentication. This vulnerability stems from the platform's failure to correctly check or enforce an organization's specific security settings during the authentication flow. An Organization Administrator can explicitly disable an IdP or disallow federation, but this setting was not being honored during the auto-linking process. This allowed an unauthenticated attacker to initiate a login using an IdP that should have been disabled for that organization. The platform would incorrectly validate the login and, based on a matching criteria, link the attacker's external identity to an existing internal user account. This may result in a full Account Takeover, bypassing the organization's mandated security controls. Note that accounts with MFA enabled can not be taken over by this attack. Also note that only IdPs create on an instance level would allow this to work. IdPs registered on another organization would always be denied in the (auto-)linking process. Versions 4.6.6, 3.4.4, and 2.71.19 resolve the issue by correctly validating the organization's login policy before auto-linking an external user. No known workarounds are available aside from upgrading.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Authentication

When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.

More Improper Authentication vulnerabilities (CWE-287)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in zitadel

All zitadel vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Authentication vulnerabilities

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