CVE-2025-23027: next-forge Token Exposure Vulnerability

CVE-2025-23027 Overview

CVE-2025-23027 affects next-forge, a Next.js project boilerplate for modern web applications. The vulnerability stems from a hardcoded BASEHUB_TOKEN credential committed to the repository in apps/web/.env.example. Any user who cloned or forked the project may have inherited an exposed API token with access to BaseHub resources. The issue is categorized as cleartext storage of sensitive information [CWE-312].

The maintainers advise users to avoid using the exposed token and to revoke any access it may have in their systems.

Critical Impact
A live BASEHUB_TOKEN was committed to the public apps/web/.env.example file, exposing the credential to anyone with repository access and requiring rotation of associated BaseHub resources.

Affected Products

next-forge (Next.js project boilerplate)
Repository: haydenbleasel/next-forge
File affected: apps/web/.env.example

Discovery Timeline

2025-01-13 - CVE-2025-23027 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23027

Vulnerability Analysis

The next-forge boilerplate shipped an example environment file with a real, non-placeholder BASEHUB_TOKEN value. Example environment files are intended to document required variables using empty strings or dummy values. Committing a functional token defeats that purpose and grants any repository visitor programmatic access to the associated BaseHub account resources.

Because .env.example files are tracked in version control and typically copied by developers as the starting template for .env.local, the exposed token propagated into forks, clones, and archived Git history. Even after rotation, the value remains recoverable from Git history unless the commit is rewritten.

Root Cause

The root cause is cleartext storage of a sensitive credential in a version-controlled file [CWE-312]. Environment example templates should contain only variable names and empty strings. A production-usable API token was inadvertently retained instead of being scrubbed before commit.

Attack Vector

An attacker who browses the public repository, forks, or archived snapshots can extract the token directly from apps/web/.env.example. The attacker can then authenticate to BaseHub APIs using the leaked token and access or modify content the token was scoped to. No authentication or user interaction on the victim system is required to obtain the credential.

text

# Patch diff from apps/web/.env.example
 ARCJET_KEY=""
 SVIX_TOKEN=""
 LIVEBLOCKS_SECRET=""
-BASEHUB_TOKEN="bshb_pk_tcc7ln0t2cjojy7p56c4k47iyuh6fu62ga6lk5kkko59mv6ntnd9afg8ok9nqk5m"
+BASEHUB_TOKEN=""
 # VERCEL_PROJECT_PRODUCTION_URL="http://localhost:3001"

 # Client
# Source: https://github.com/haydenbleasel/next-forge/commit/239a98f2c308a51d626ae0613102917f82603c1c

The patch replaces the live token value with an empty string. See the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-wppx-qmqh-9h33 for full advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23027

Indicators of Compromise

Presence of the token prefix bshb_pk_tcc7ln0t2cjojy7p56c4k47iyuh6fu62ga6lk5kkko59mv6ntnd9afg8ok9nqk5m in any local repository, deployment artifact, or CI/CD pipeline configuration.
Any BASEHUB_TOKEN value in .env.example, .env, or .env.local that is not an empty string or placeholder.
Unexpected BaseHub API activity originating from IP addresses not associated with your infrastructure.

Detection Strategies

Scan all repositories, forks, and Git history for the leaked token string using tools such as gitleaks, trufflehog, or GitHub secret scanning.
Review BaseHub audit logs for API calls authenticated with the exposed token.
Inspect CI/CD environment variables and deployed application secrets stores for the compromised value.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable secret scanning and push protection on repositories derived from next-forge.
Alert on any API activity from the compromised BaseHub token until it is fully revoked.
Monitor for new commits that reintroduce non-empty values into .env.example files.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23027

Immediate Actions Required

Revoke the exposed BASEHUB_TOKEN immediately in the BaseHub console.
Issue a new token and update all deployment and CI/CD environments with the replacement value.
Audit BaseHub usage logs for unauthorized activity attributable to the leaked token.
Update forks and local clones of next-forge to the fixed commit and remove any inherited token value.

Patch Information

The fix is applied in commit 239a98f, which replaces the hardcoded BASEHUB_TOKEN value in apps/web/.env.example with an empty string. Pull the latest next-forge upstream changes and reconcile any local .env.example files. Refer to GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-wppx-qmqh-9h33 for advisory guidance.

Workarounds

Manually overwrite the BASEHUB_TOKEN line in apps/web/.env.example to an empty string in any downstream repository.
Add .env.example to secret-scanning coverage and configure pre-commit hooks such as git-secrets or gitleaks protect to block future credential commits.
Rotate any other secrets that share the same environment file scope as a precaution.

bash

# Remove the leaked token from local files and rotate
sed -i 's/^BASEHUB_TOKEN=.*/BASEHUB_TOKEN=""/' apps/web/.env.example
git add apps/web/.env.example
git commit -m "chore(security): scrub leaked BASEHUB_TOKEN (CVE-2025-23027)"

# Scan repository history for the compromised token
gitleaks detect --source . --redact --log-opts="--all"