CVE-2025-63911: Cohesity Tranzman RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-63911 Overview

CVE-2025-63911 is an authenticated command injection vulnerability affecting Cohesity TranZman Migration Appliance Release 4.0 Build 14614. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying system, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can leverage this command injection flaw to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the application, potentially gaining full control over the migration appliance and accessing sensitive data being migrated.

Affected Products

• Cohesity TranZman Migration Appliance Release 4.0 Build 14614
• cohesity tranzman 4.0:build14614

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-03 - CVE CVE-2025-63911 published to NVD
• 2026-03-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-63911

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), commonly known as OS Command Injection. The Cohesity TranZman Migration Appliance fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into operating system commands. When an authenticated user provides specially crafted input containing shell metacharacters or command separators, the application passes this malicious input directly to the underlying operating system shell for execution.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means attackers with valid credentials can exploit it remotely without requiring local access to the appliance. While high-level privileges are required for exploitation, the impact is severe as successful attacks can result in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation and sanitization within the TranZman Migration Appliance. The application constructs OS commands using user-controllable data without properly escaping or filtering dangerous characters such as semicolons (;), pipes (|), backticks (`), dollar signs ($), and other shell metacharacters. This allows authenticated users to break out of the intended command context and inject arbitrary commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is executed over the network by an authenticated user. The attacker must first obtain valid credentials with high privileges on the TranZman appliance. Once authenticated, the attacker can inject malicious commands through vulnerable input fields or API parameters that are processed by the application and passed to the underlying operating system.

The injected commands execute with the same privileges as the TranZman application process, potentially allowing attackers to read sensitive configuration files, extract migration data, modify system settings, establish persistent access, or pivot to other systems on the network.

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the GitHub CVE Repository and the GitHub Gist Resource.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-63911

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual process spawning from the TranZman application process (e.g., /bin/sh, /bin/bash, cmd.exe)
• Unexpected network connections originating from the migration appliance to external IP addresses
• Log entries containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &, $(), backticks) in user input fields
• Creation of new user accounts or modification of existing account privileges on the appliance
• Presence of unauthorized files or scripts in temporary directories or web-accessible locations

Detection Strategies

• Monitor application logs for input containing command injection patterns such as ;, |, &&, ||, $(, and backticks
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect anomalous outbound connections from the TranZman appliance
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to identify suspicious process chains originating from the application
• Configure SIEM rules to alert on authentication events followed by unusual system command execution
• Utilize file integrity monitoring on critical system directories to detect unauthorized modifications

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the Cohesity TranZman appliance and forward logs to a centralized SIEM
• Monitor privileged user account activity for unusual access patterns or time-of-day anomalies
• Implement behavioral analytics to baseline normal appliance operations and alert on deviations
• Review audit logs regularly for failed authentication attempts that may indicate credential brute-forcing

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-63911

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the TranZman appliance to only trusted management networks and IP addresses
• Review and audit all privileged user accounts, removing unnecessary access and enforcing strong authentication
• Implement network segmentation to isolate the migration appliance from critical infrastructure
• Monitor for indicators of compromise and investigate any suspicious activity
• Apply vendor-provided patches or updates as soon as they become available

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on 2026-03-05, organizations should check the GitHub CVE Repository for the latest information regarding patches and updates. Contact Cohesity support directly to inquire about security updates for TranZman Migration Appliance Release 4.0 Build 14614.

Workarounds

• Implement a web application firewall (WAF) or reverse proxy with input filtering rules to block command injection payloads
• Restrict administrative access to the appliance through VPN-only connections with multi-factor authentication
• Disable or limit functionality in vulnerable components if they are not required for operations
• Apply principle of least privilege by reviewing and reducing the permissions of authenticated users
• Consider deploying the appliance in an isolated network segment with egress filtering to limit the impact of successful exploitation

# Network access restriction example using iptables
# Allow management access only from trusted subnet
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP

# Log all connections for monitoring
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j LOG --log-prefix "TRANZMAN-ACCESS: "