CVE-2025-14914
Published: 02 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2025-14914 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Ibm Websphere Application Server. Its CVSS base score is 7.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 3.1th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Path traversal in zip upload to public-facing WebSphere app directly enables remote file overwrite for arbitrary code execution (T1190).
NVD Description
IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.1 could allow a privileged user to upload a zip archive containing path traversal sequences resulting in an overwrite of files leading to arbitrary code execution.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2025-14914 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affecting IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.1. Published on 2026-02-02, it allows a privileged user to upload a zip archive containing path traversal sequences, which can overwrite arbitrary files on the server and lead to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.6 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts with a changed scope.
Exploitation requires a high-privileged remote attacker (PR:H) who can interact with the server over the network (AV:N). The attack demands high attack complexity (AC:H) and user interaction (UI:R), such as an administrator approving or performing the upload of a specially crafted zip archive. Successful exploitation enables file overwrites outside the intended directory, culminating in arbitrary code execution on the server.
IBM has published a security advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7258224, which provides details on the vulnerability, affected versions, and recommended mitigations or patches. Security practitioners should consult this advisory for specific remediation steps.
Details
- CWE(s)