CVE-2025-53928: Maxkb RCE Vulnerability via MCP Call

CVE-2025-53928 Overview

CVE-2025-53928 is a critical Remote Command Execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting MaxKB, an open-source AI assistant platform designed for enterprise environments. The vulnerability exists in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) call functionality, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on vulnerable systems remotely over the network.

Critical Impact
This vulnerability enables unauthenticated remote command execution, potentially allowing attackers to gain complete control over affected MaxKB installations and compromise the underlying server infrastructure.

Affected Products

MaxKB versions prior to 1.10.9-lts (LTS branch)
MaxKB versions prior to 2.0.0 (main branch)
All enterprise deployments running unpatched MaxKB instances

Discovery Timeline

2025-07-17 - CVE-2025-53928 published to NVD
2025-08-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-53928

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code - Code Injection). The flaw resides in how MaxKB processes MCP (Model Context Protocol) calls, a critical component in the AI assistant's communication architecture. The vulnerability allows attackers to inject and execute arbitrary commands through the MCP interface without requiring any authentication or user interaction.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability combined with no prerequisites for exploitation makes it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where MaxKB is deployed to handle sensitive business operations and data.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper input validation and sanitization in the MCP call handler. When processing incoming MCP requests, the application fails to adequately validate or sanitize user-controlled input before passing it to system command execution functions. This lack of input validation allows malicious payloads to break out of the intended command context and execute arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the MaxKB application process.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network without authentication. An attacker can craft malicious MCP requests containing command injection payloads and send them to a vulnerable MaxKB instance. Upon processing these requests, the application inadvertently executes the injected commands on the underlying operating system.

The attack requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it highly exploitable. Successful exploitation could result in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53928

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual process spawning from the MaxKB application process
Unexpected outbound network connections from the MaxKB server
Suspicious MCP call patterns in application logs with malformed or encoded payloads
Creation of unexpected files or modification of system configurations

Detection Strategies

Monitor MCP endpoint traffic for anomalous request patterns or command injection signatures
Implement application-layer firewall rules to inspect and filter MCP requests
Deploy network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) with signatures for command injection attempts
Review MaxKB application logs for failed or unusual MCP call processing

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging for all MCP call processing in MaxKB
Set up alerts for process execution anomalies on servers hosting MaxKB
Monitor network traffic to and from MaxKB instances for unusual patterns
Implement file integrity monitoring on MaxKB installation directories

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53928

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade MaxKB LTS installations to version 1.10.9-lts or later immediately
Upgrade MaxKB main branch installations to version 2.0.0 or later immediately
Restrict network access to MaxKB instances using firewall rules until patching is complete
Audit systems for signs of compromise before and after patching

Patch Information

The MaxKB development team has addressed this vulnerability in version 1.10.9-lts for the LTS branch and version 2.0.0 for the main branch. Organizations should upgrade to these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. The official release is available at the GitHub Release v2.0.0 page. Additional details can be found in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-38q2-4mm7-qf5h.

Workarounds

Implement network segmentation to isolate MaxKB instances from untrusted networks
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with command injection detection rules in front of MaxKB
Disable or restrict access to MCP endpoints if not required for operations
Apply principle of least privilege to the MaxKB service account to limit impact of potential compromise

bash

# Example: Restrict network access to MaxKB using iptables
# Allow only trusted IP ranges to access the MaxKB service port
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DROP