CVE-2025-65791: Zoneminder RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-65791 Overview

A critical command injection vulnerability has been identified in ZoneMinder v1.36.34, a popular open-source video surveillance solution. The vulnerability exists in the web/views/image.php component, where unsanitized user input is passed directly to the exec() function, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying server.

Critical Impact
This command injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the web server process, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

Affected Products

ZoneMinder version 1.36.34

Discovery Timeline

2026-02-18 - CVE-2025-65791 published to NVD
2026-02-19 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-65791

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), commonly known as OS Command Injection. The vulnerable component resides in web/views/image.php, which is responsible for handling image-related requests within the ZoneMinder web interface.

The fundamental flaw lies in the application's failure to properly validate and sanitize user-controlled input before incorporating it into system command execution via PHP's exec() function. This allows an attacker to inject shell metacharacters and arbitrary commands that will be executed by the underlying operating system.

Since ZoneMinder typically runs on Linux-based systems with the web server user permissions (often www-data or similar), successful exploitation grants attackers the ability to execute commands with those privileges. This can lead to data exfiltration, installation of backdoors, lateral movement within the network, or complete system takeover if privilege escalation vulnerabilities are chained.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation in the image.php file. User-supplied parameters are concatenated directly into command strings that are subsequently executed via the exec() function without proper sanitization or escaping of shell metacharacters. This violates secure coding principles that mandate treating all user input as untrusted and applying appropriate validation, sanitization, and parameterization before use in sensitive operations.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no authentication and no user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the vulnerable image.php endpoint, injecting shell commands through manipulated parameters. The injected commands are then executed by the server when the exec() function processes the unsanitized input.

Common injection techniques include using shell metacharacters such as semicolons (;), pipes (|), backticks, or command substitution syntax ($(command)) to append or chain malicious commands to legitimate operations. For detailed technical information and proof-of-concept examples, refer to the GitHub PoC Repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-65791

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual process spawning from the web server process (Apache/Nginx)
Unexpected outbound network connections from the ZoneMinder server
Suspicious entries in web server access logs containing shell metacharacters in requests to image.php
Creation of unauthorized files or modifications to system configurations
Unexpected user accounts or SSH keys added to the system

Detection Strategies

Monitor web server logs for requests to /web/views/image.php containing suspicious characters such as ;, |, &, $(), or backticks
Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block command injection patterns targeting ZoneMinder endpoints
Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying anomalous process execution chains originating from web server processes
Enable PHP logging and audit exec(), shell_exec(), system(), and similar function calls

Monitoring Recommendations

Configure SIEM alerts for command injection signature patterns in HTTP request parameters
Monitor for unusual child processes spawned by the web server process
Track file system changes in ZoneMinder installation directories and system-critical paths
Establish baseline network behavior and alert on anomalous outbound connections from the surveillance server

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-65791

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to ZoneMinder web interface to trusted IP addresses only
Implement a Web Application Firewall with command injection protection rules
Review and audit access logs for potential exploitation attempts
Consider temporarily disabling the ZoneMinder web interface if not critical to operations
Isolate the ZoneMinder server from sensitive network segments

Patch Information

At the time of this publication, no official vendor patch information is available in the CVE data. Organizations should monitor the official ZoneMinder project channels and security advisories for patch releases. Additional technical details are available in the GitHub PoC Repository.

Workarounds

Implement strict network segmentation to limit access to the ZoneMinder server
Deploy a reverse proxy with input validation rules to filter malicious requests before they reach the application
Apply PHP configuration hardening by disabling dangerous functions like exec(), shell_exec(), and system() if not required
Run ZoneMinder with minimal privileges and consider containerization to limit the blast radius of potential compromise

bash

# Example: Restrict dangerous PHP functions in php.ini (if exec() is not required)
disable_functions = exec,shell_exec,system,passthru,popen,proc_open

# Example: Apache configuration to restrict access to image.php
<Location "/web/views/image.php">
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</Location>

Frequently Asked Questions about CVE-2025-65791

What is CVE-2025-65791?

CVE-2025-65791 is a critical OS command injection vulnerability in ZoneMinder, an open-source video surveillance platform. An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary operating system commands through a vulnerable parameter and get remote code execution on the server. It carries a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score of 9.8 (Critical).

Who is affected by CVE-2025-65791?

Any organization running ZoneMinder version 1.36.34 is affected, including self-hosted installations used for physical security monitoring in enterprises, universities, municipalities, and home labs. Installations exposed to the internet or internal networks without authentication are at greatest risk. ZoneMinder is widely deployed in Linux-based physical security systems.

How does CVE-2025-65791 work?

The vulnerability exists in a ZoneMinder web interface parameter that passes user-supplied input directly to a system shell command without sanitization. An attacker submits a crafted HTTP request containing shell metacharacters, causing the server to execute attacker-controlled commands as the web server user. No authentication is required to trigger the vulnerability.

What is the severity of CVE-2025-65791?

CVE-2025-65791 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical) with a network attack vector, no authentication required, and no user interaction needed. Successful exploitation fully compromises the host server’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Because no authentication is needed, mass exploitation through automated scanning is highly likely.

How do I remediate CVE-2025-65791?

SentinelOne’s advisory lists no official patch yet, so watch the ZoneMinder GitHub releases and update as soon as one ships. Until then, put ZoneMinder behind a virtual private network (VPN) or firewall to take it off the public internet. Disable or restrict the vulnerable endpoint at the web server level as an interim measure.