Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-53102

Auth Bypass in Discourse ≤ 3.4.6

Published
29 July 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 8.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0045 37th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-53102 is a high-severity Session Fixation (CWE-384) vulnerability in Discourse Discourse. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Steal Web Session Cookie (T1539); ranked at the 37th 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 SC-23 (Session Authenticity) and AC-12 (Session Termination) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Discourse is an open-source community discussion platform. Prior to version 3.4.7 on the `stable` branch and version 3.5.0.beta.8 on the `tests-passed` branch, upon issuing a physical security key for 2FA, the server generates a WebAuthn challenge, which the client signs.…

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The challenge is not cleared from the user’s session after authentication, potentially allowing reuse and increasing security risk. This is fixed in versions 3.4.7 and 3.5.0.beta.8.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie Credential Access
An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.
T1550.004 Web Session Cookie Lateral Movement
Adversaries can use stolen session cookies to authenticate to web applications and services.
T1606 Forge Web Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may forge credential materials that can be used to gain access to web applications or Internet services.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58054Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-27166Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2025-61598Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-53963Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-22454Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2025-48954Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-22468Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-43659Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2026-33411Same product: Discourse Discourse
CVE-2023-25172Same product: Discourse Discourse

Affected Assets

discourse
discourse
3.5.0 · ≤ 3.4.6 · ≤ 3.5.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V4.4.4
  • V7.6.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Requires protection of session authenticity, which directly stops an attacker from using a stolen or fixed session identifier after authentication.

Limits the lifetime of any session (fixed or not), thereby reducing the window during which a stolen identifier remains usable.

Enforces that only properly authorized (i.e., freshly authenticated) sessions can access resources, making a pre-existing fixed session ID unusable.

Forces re-authentication under defined conditions, which should result in issuance of a fresh session identifier and invalidation of any prior one.

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.

PR.AA-03 mostly match
prevents

Proper authentication processes must invalidate prior session identifiers to prevent fixation attacks.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

Managing identities and credentials includes handling session identifiers as temporary credentials that must be invalidated on re-authentication.

PR.AA-04 partial match
prevents

Protecting and verifying identity assertions encompasses secure handling and regeneration of session tokens.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Configuration baselines can enforce session regeneration and timeout settings that block fixation.

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.

finds

Security testing can detect session-fixation issues, yet the weakness absence does not replace comprehensive testing.

degrades

Access-control policy can mandate session invalidation on re-authentication, but does not prescribe the technical mechanism.

degrades

Identity-management procedures can require new session tokens after login, yet the control is broader than session handling.

degrades

Authentication-information rules can include session-token lifecycle requirements, but the control focuses on credential management.

prevents

Secure-SDLC requirement can embed session-fixation checks, but eliminating the weakness does not satisfy the full SDLC control.

prevents

Application-security requirements can specify session handling, yet the weakness fix alone does not meet the broader requirement.

References