Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
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 32th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
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.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-206602
Vulnerability Data
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.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.