CVE-2025-13447: Progress LoadMaster API RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13447 Overview

CVE-2025-13447 is an OS Command Injection vulnerability affecting the API in Progress LoadMaster that enables authenticated attackers with "User Administration" permissions to execute arbitrary commands on the LoadMaster appliance. The vulnerability exists due to unsanitized input handling in the API input parameters, allowing attackers to inject and execute malicious system commands.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with administrative privileges can achieve complete system compromise through arbitrary command execution on the LoadMaster appliance, potentially affecting network load balancing operations and connected systems.

Affected Products

• Progress LoadMaster
• Progress MOVEit WAF
• Progress ECS Connection Manager
• Progress Connection Manager for ObjectScale

Discovery Timeline

• January 13, 2026 - CVE-2025-13447 published to NVD
• January 13, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13447

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a classic OS command injection flaw where user-controlled input reaches system command execution functions without proper sanitization. The attack requires an authenticated user with "User Administration" permissions, which provides some level of access control. However, the scope change characteristic indicates that successful exploitation can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component's security scope, potentially affecting other systems or components managed by the LoadMaster appliance.

The vulnerability is exploitable from an adjacent network, meaning attackers must have network adjacency to the target system rather than remote internet access. This typically implies the attacker needs to be on the same network segment or have achieved initial access to the internal network. Despite requiring high privileges, the low attack complexity and absence of user interaction requirements make this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where administrative access may be shared or compromised.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-13447 lies in insufficient input validation and sanitization of API parameters before they are passed to system shell commands. The LoadMaster API accepts user input that is subsequently incorporated into operating system commands without adequate escaping or filtering of shell metacharacters. This allows specially crafted input containing command separators (such as ;, |, &&, or backticks) to break out of the intended command context and execute attacker-controlled commands with the privileges of the web application or underlying service.

Attack Vector

The attack leverages the adjacent network attack vector, requiring the attacker to be positioned on the same network segment as the LoadMaster appliance. An authenticated attacker with "User Administration" permissions crafts malicious API requests containing shell metacharacters and command payloads within the vulnerable input parameters.

When the API processes these requests, the unsanitized input is concatenated directly into system commands, causing the injected payload to execute. Since the vulnerability has a changed scope, successful exploitation can lead to command execution that affects the underlying operating system, potentially compromising network traffic handling, load balancing configurations, and other connected infrastructure components.

The exploitation mechanism typically involves identifying API endpoints that accept user input and pass it to backend shell commands. Attackers inject payloads using common command injection techniques to achieve arbitrary command execution.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13447

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual API requests to LoadMaster administrative endpoints containing shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &&, $(), or backticks
• Unexpected process spawning from the LoadMaster web application or API service processes
• Anomalous outbound network connections from the LoadMaster appliance to external hosts
• Creation of unauthorized user accounts or modification of system configurations on the appliance

Detection Strategies

• Monitor LoadMaster API access logs for requests containing command injection payloads or unusual parameter values
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for command injection patterns targeting Progress products
• Implement application-level monitoring to detect process execution anomalies from web service contexts
• Review authentication logs for unusual "User Administration" account activity or access from unexpected sources

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on LoadMaster appliances including API request logging and system command execution auditing
• Configure SIEM correlation rules to alert on patterns indicative of command injection attempts
• Monitor process creation events on LoadMaster systems for unexpected child processes of web services
• Establish baseline behavior for administrative API usage and alert on deviations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13447

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the latest security patches from Progress for LoadMaster, MOVEit WAF, ECS Connection Manager, and Connection Manager for ObjectScale
• Review and audit all accounts with "User Administration" permissions, removing unnecessary access
• Implement network segmentation to restrict access to LoadMaster administrative interfaces
• Enable additional logging and monitoring on affected systems pending patch deployment

Patch Information

Progress has released security advisories addressing CVE-2025-13447 across multiple affected products. Organizations should review the relevant security bulletins for their specific deployments:

• LoadMaster Security Advisory
• MOVEit WAF Security Advisory
• ECS Connection Manager Security Advisory
• Connection Manager for ObjectScale Security Advisory

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to the LoadMaster API to only trusted administrative workstations using firewall rules or access control lists
• Implement strict access controls limiting "User Administration" permissions to essential personnel only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) in front of the LoadMaster management interface to filter command injection attempts
• Consider temporarily disabling API access if not operationally required until patches can be applied

# Example: Restrict API access via firewall (adjust IP ranges for your environment)
# Allow only trusted admin subnet to access LoadMaster management port
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.1.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP