CVE-2025-45608: Xinguan Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2025-45608 Overview

CVE-2025-45608 is a broken access control vulnerability affecting the Xinguan application developed by zykzhangyukang. The vulnerability exists in the /system/user/findUserList API endpoint, which fails to properly validate user authorization before returning sensitive user information. Attackers can exploit this flaw by sending crafted payloads to the vulnerable endpoint, allowing unauthorized access to user data without proper authentication or authorization.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely access sensitive user information through the exposed API endpoint, potentially leading to data breaches and privacy violations.

Affected Products

• Zykzhangyukang Xinguan version 0.0.1-SNAPSHOT
• All deployments utilizing the vulnerable /system/user/findUserList API endpoint
• Systems running Xinguan without additional access control mechanisms

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-05 - CVE-2025-45608 published to NVD
• 2025-10-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-45608

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-284 (Improper Access Control), indicating that the application fails to restrict access to a sensitive resource to authorized users only. The /system/user/findUserList API endpoint exposes user enumeration functionality without implementing proper authentication checks or role-based access controls.

The attack can be performed remotely over the network without requiring any prior authentication or user interaction. When successfully exploited, attackers gain read access to sensitive user data stored within the application, which may include usernames, email addresses, and other personally identifiable information.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the missing or inadequate authorization checks within the /system/user/findUserList API controller. The endpoint appears to process incoming requests and return user list data without first validating whether the requesting party has the necessary permissions to access this information. This represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture where sensitive administrative functionality is exposed without proper access control enforcement.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low complexity to execute. An attacker does not need any privileges or user interaction to exploit this vulnerability. The attacker can directly send HTTP requests to the /system/user/findUserList endpoint with crafted payloads to enumerate user accounts and extract sensitive information.

The vulnerability mechanism involves sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable API endpoint. An attacker would typically target the /system/user/findUserList path with various parameters to retrieve user data that should only be accessible to authenticated administrators. For detailed technical information, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-45608

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or high-volume HTTP requests to the /system/user/findUserList API endpoint from unknown IP addresses
• Access to the user listing API from unauthenticated sessions or without valid session tokens
• Anomalous patterns of user data retrieval that deviate from normal administrative activity
• HTTP responses containing bulk user information sent to external or unauthorized sources

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to monitor and alert on unauthorized access attempts to /system/user/findUserList
• Deploy API monitoring solutions to track access patterns and identify unauthenticated requests to sensitive endpoints
• Configure application-level logging to capture all requests to user management APIs for forensic analysis
• Utilize SentinelOne Singularity to detect anomalous API access patterns and potential data exfiltration attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the Xinguan application to capture all API requests including source IP, headers, and parameters
• Set up alerts for any access to /system/user/findUserList without corresponding authentication events
• Monitor network traffic for large data transfers originating from the API server to external destinations
• Review access logs regularly for patterns indicative of automated enumeration or scraping activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-45608

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the /system/user/findUserList API endpoint using firewall rules or network segmentation
• Implement authentication requirements for all user management API endpoints immediately
• Audit recent access logs to determine if the vulnerability has been exploited
• Consider temporarily disabling the vulnerable endpoint until a proper fix can be applied

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on 2025-10-10, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor the GitHub Issue Discussion for updates from the maintainer regarding patches or security releases. Given the open-source nature of the project, organizations may need to implement their own fixes or consider alternative solutions.

Workarounds

• Deploy a reverse proxy or API gateway in front of the application to enforce authentication on the vulnerable endpoint
• Implement IP-based access controls to limit access to the user listing API to trusted administrative networks only
• Add custom middleware or filter logic to validate user authentication and authorization before processing requests
• Consider wrapping the vulnerable endpoint with an authentication layer at the infrastructure level

# Example: Nginx configuration to restrict access to the vulnerable endpoint
location /system/user/findUserList {
    # Restrict access to internal network only
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;
    allow 192.168.0.0/16;
    deny all;
    
    # Require authentication
    auth_basic "Restricted Access";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    
    proxy_pass http://backend_server;
}