Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/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:XSummary
CVE-2025-58173 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Freshrss Freshrss. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 49th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) — 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-2025-58173 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22, CWE-20) in the `language` user configuration parameter of FreshRSS, a self-hosted RSS feed aggregator. Affecting versions 1.23.0 through 1.27.0, the flaw allows attackers to invoke the `install.php` script, enabling unprivileged users to execute various administrative functions. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for complete compromise.
An authenticated user with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this over the network (AV:N) with low complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation grants the ability to impersonate the admin account, create new admin users, or reconfigure the database connection to an attacker-controlled MySQL server. From there, attackers can insert malicious `curl_params` into the `feed` table, leading to arbitrary code execution within the FreshRSS environment.
Mitigation is addressed in FreshRSS version 1.27.1, which patches the path traversal issue through changes in user configuration handling and install script access controls, as detailed in GitHub commits such as 79604aa4b3051f083d1734bd9e82c6a89d785c5a, dbbae15a8458679db0f4540dacdbdcff9c02ec8c, and ee175dd6169a016fc898fac62d046e22c205dec0, along with pull requests #7878 and #7971. Security practitioners should upgrade to 1.27.1 immediately and review access controls for unprivileged users.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-203469
Vulnerability Data
FreshRSS is a self-hosted RSS feed aggregator. In versions 1.23.0 through 1.27.0, using a path traversal inside the `language` user configuration parameter, it's possible to call `install.php` and perform various administrative actions as an unprivileged user. These actions include logging…
more
in as the admin, creating a new admin user, or set the database to an attacker-controlled MySQL server and abuse it to execute code in FreshRSS by setting malicious feed `curl_params` inside the `feed` table. Version 1.27.1 fixes the issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 6 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing input validation through analysis or test cases.
SI-10 directly requires validity checks on information inputs, structurally preventing improper or missing validation.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Requiring documented development standards and tools can embed input-validation practices into the engineering process.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require and enforce input validation during development.
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.
Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.
Secure-coding guidelines and mandatory security testing (including code scans) compel developers to validate and sanitize inputs at design and implementation time, lowering the incidence of malformed or malicious data reaching downstream components.
Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.
Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.
Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-20