CVE-2025-53902 Overview
CVE-2025-53902 is an authorization flaw in Tuleap, an open source suite for software development management and team collaboration. Authenticated users can access confidential information stored in artifacts they are not permitted to view. The issue affects Tuleap Community Edition prior to version 16.9.99.1752585665 and Tuleap Enterprise Edition prior to 16.8-6 and 16.9-5. Enalean addressed the flaw in subsequent patched releases. The weakness is classified under [CWE-863] Incorrect Authorization.
Critical Impact
Authenticated Tuleap users can read confidential artifact data outside their authorization scope, leading to disclosure of tracker information intended to be restricted.
Affected Products
- Tuleap Community Edition prior to 16.9.99.1752585665
- Tuleap Enterprise Edition prior to 16.8-6
- Tuleap Enterprise Edition prior to 16.9-5
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-07-29 - CVE-2025-53902 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-53902
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in Tuleap's artifact access control logic within the tracker plugin. Tuleap uses per-artifact permissions to restrict viewing of sensitive tracker items. In affected releases, the authorization check does not fully evaluate a user's permission before returning artifact content. Users with a valid Tuleap account can therefore retrieve confidential fields from artifacts outside their authorized scope. The flaw impacts confidentiality but does not modify integrity or availability of the tracker data. Enalean shipped the corrective changes in commit ebe054df8a2672afee41af84e5ba14b57ef8b789.
Root Cause
The root cause is an incorrect authorization decision [CWE-863] in the artifact retrieval path. The code returned artifact data without enforcing the full set of restriction rules that govern who may view a given artifact. Tracker configurations that rely on artifact-level permissions to hide fields from certain users or groups are directly exposed.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires network access to a Tuleap instance and authenticated low-privilege user credentials. No user interaction is required. An attacker crafts requests to artifact endpoints exposed by the tracker plugin and receives content that permission checks should have blocked. Refer to the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-6f24-5v47-rj6j and the Tuleap Tracker Issue 43704 for advisory details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53902
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected access log entries for tracker artifact URLs from user accounts that historically do not interact with restricted trackers.
- Anomalous volume of artifact read requests targeting tracker plugin endpoints, particularly against artifact IDs outside a user's project scope.
- Correlated authentication events showing low-privilege sessions retrieving fields from projects they do not belong to.
Detection Strategies
- Compare Tuleap version strings reported by /api/version or the administrative UI against fixed releases 16.9.99.1752585665, 16.8-6, and 16.9-5.
- Enable and review Tuleap access logs for artifact retrievals that do not correspond to the requester's project membership.
- Ingest Tuleap web and application logs into a centralized analytics platform and hunt for artifact ID enumeration patterns tied to a single session.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Alert on any HTTP requests to artifact endpoints originating from accounts flagged as external, contractor, or guest.
- Track baseline artifact-read volumes per user and trigger review on statistically significant deviations.
- Monitor changes to tracker permission configurations to ensure restrictive settings are preserved after upgrades.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53902
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Tuleap Community Edition to version 16.9.99.1752585665 or later immediately.
- Upgrade Tuleap Enterprise Edition to 16.8-6, 16.9-5, or a later patched release supplied by Enalean.
- Review tracker permission configurations after the upgrade to confirm restrictions apply as expected.
- Audit access logs for prior unauthorized artifact reads and notify affected data owners if disclosure is suspected.
Patch Information
Enalean released the fix in Tuleap commit ebe054df8a2672afee41af84e5ba14b57ef8b789. See the GitHub Commit Overview and the Tuleap Git Commit Details for the corrective changes. The fix is included in Community Edition 16.9.99.1752585665, Enterprise Edition 16.8-6, and Enterprise Edition 16.9-5.
Workarounds
- No vendor-supplied workaround exists. Upgrading to a fixed version is the only supported remediation.
- If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to the Tuleap instance to trusted users and networks and reduce the population of authenticated accounts.
- Temporarily remove confidential data from trackers accessible to broad user groups until the patch is applied.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
