CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-25137NVD status: Deferred

nixpkgs: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-25137 is a critical-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in nixpkgs from NixOS, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected nixpkgs versions: >= 21.11, < 25.11. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 10.3% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is in the top 4.22% of all scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of nixpkgs 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
NixOSnixpkgs>= 21.11, < 25.11Not 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
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

The NixOs Odoo package is an open source ERP and CRM system. From 21.11 to before 25.11 and 26.05, every NixOS based Odoo setup publicly exposes the database manager without any authentication. This allows unauthorized actors to delete and download the entire database, including Odoos file store. Unauthorized access is evident from http requests. If kept, searching access logs and/or Odoos log for requests to /web/database can give indicators, if this has been actively exploited. The database manager is a featured intended for development and not meant to be publicly reachable. On other setups, a master password acts as 2nd line of defence. However, due to the nature of NixOS, Odoo is not able to modify its own configuration file and thus unable to persist the auto-generated password. This also applies when manually setting a master password in the web-UI. This means, the password is lost when restarting Odoo. When no password is set, the user is prompted to set one directly via the database manager. This requires no authentication or action by any authorized user or the system administrator. Thus, the database is effectively world readable by anyone able to reach Odoo. This vulnerability is fixed in 25.11 and 26.05.

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

The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
  • When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.

More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in nixpkgs

All nixpkgs vulnerabilities

Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities

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