CVE-2025-12925: Rymcu Forest Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-12925 Overview

A missing authorization vulnerability has been discovered in rymcu forest up to commit de53ce79db9faa2efc4e79ce1077a302c42a1224. The vulnerability affects the getAll, addDic, getAllDic, and deleteDic functions within the file src/main/java/com/rymcu/forest/lucene/api/UserDicController.java. The manipulation results in missing authorization checks, allowing unauthorized access to dictionary management functionality. The attack may be launched remotely over the network without requiring authentication.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can manipulate dictionary entries through the UserDicController API endpoints, potentially leading to data integrity issues and unauthorized access to sensitive dictionary management functions.

Affected Products

rymcu forest (rolling release up to commit de53ce79db9faa2efc4e79ce1077a302c42a1224)

Discovery Timeline

2025-11-10 - CVE CVE-2025-12925 published to NVD
2026-02-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-12925

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-862: Missing Authorization. The affected component is UserDicController.java, which exposes multiple API endpoints for dictionary management operations without implementing proper authorization checks. The vulnerable functions—getAll, addDic, getAllDic, and deleteDic—can be invoked by any remote user without authentication or authorization validation.

The absence of access control mechanisms means that attackers can remotely interact with the dictionary management system. This could allow unauthorized users to enumerate existing dictionary entries via getAll and getAllDic, add malicious or arbitrary entries through addDic, or delete legitimate entries using deleteDic. This product operates on a rolling release basis with continuous delivery, meaning there are no discrete version numbers for affected or patched releases.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of authorization checks in the UserDicController.java controller class. The developer did not implement access control mechanisms such as authentication validation or role-based authorization before allowing execution of dictionary management operations. This is a common oversight in API development where endpoints are exposed without proper security middleware or annotation-based security controls (such as Spring Security's @PreAuthorize annotations).

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without requiring any user interaction or prior authentication. An attacker can directly send HTTP requests to the exposed API endpoints in the UserDicController. The attack complexity is low since no special conditions or configurations are required for exploitation.

Exploitation involves sending crafted HTTP requests to the dictionary management endpoints. An attacker could enumerate dictionary entries by calling the getAll or getAllDic endpoints, add unauthorized dictionary entries via the addDic endpoint, or delete existing entries through the deleteDic endpoint. The impact includes potential data integrity violations and unauthorized information disclosure.

For technical details, see the GitHub Issue Tracker and VulDB Entry #331645.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12925

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected HTTP requests to /api/lucene/user-dic or similar UserDicController endpoints from unauthenticated sources
Unusual patterns of dictionary entry additions or deletions in application logs
Unauthorized access attempts to the Lucene user dictionary management API endpoints
Spike in API requests to dictionary management functions from unknown IP addresses

Detection Strategies

Monitor web application logs for requests to UserDicController endpoints without valid session tokens or authentication headers
Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and alert on suspicious patterns targeting dictionary API endpoints
Review access logs for patterns of enumeration attempts (repeated calls to getAll or getAllDic endpoints)

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable detailed logging for all API endpoints in the forest application, particularly those handling dictionary operations
Set up alerts for dictionary modifications that occur outside of expected administrative windows
Monitor for bulk dictionary operations that could indicate automated exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12925

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the affected endpoints using firewall rules or reverse proxy configurations
Implement authentication and authorization checks on the UserDicController endpoints
Review and audit all API endpoints in the application for similar missing authorization issues
Consider taking the dictionary management functionality offline until a patch is applied

Patch Information

This product operates on a rolling release basis with continuous delivery. Monitor the rymcu forest GitHub repository for commits that address this authorization issue. Check the GitHub Issue #199 for updates on remediation status. Update to a commit version newer than de53ce79db9faa2efc4e79ce1077a302c42a1224 once a fix is available.

Workarounds

Add authentication middleware or Spring Security annotations (such as @PreAuthorize) to the affected controller methods
Implement IP whitelisting to restrict access to dictionary management endpoints to trusted administrative networks
Deploy a reverse proxy with authentication requirements in front of the affected API endpoints
Remove or disable the UserDicController endpoints if dictionary management functionality is not required

bash

# Example: Restrict access to dictionary endpoints using nginx
location /api/lucene/user-dic {
    # Allow only from admin network
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;
    deny all;
    
    # Require basic authentication
    auth_basic "Admin Area";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    
    proxy_pass http://forest_backend;
}