CVE-2025-70029 Overview
CVE-2025-70029 is an Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability affecting Sunbird-Ed SunbirdEd-portal version 1.13.4. The application disables TLS/SSL certificate validation by setting rejectUnauthorized: false in HTTP request options, allowing attackers to potentially obtain sensitive information through man-in-the-middle attacks.
Critical Impact
This vulnerability enables attackers to intercept and capture sensitive data transmitted between the SunbirdEd-portal application and external services by exploiting disabled certificate validation, exposing confidential user information and system credentials.
Affected Products
- Sunbird-Ed SunbirdEd-portal v1.13.4
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-02-11 - CVE CVE-2025-70029 published to NVD
- 2026-02-12 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-70029
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation). The SunbirdEd-portal application explicitly disables TLS/SSL certificate verification when making outbound HTTP requests. By setting rejectUnauthorized: false in the request options, the application accepts any certificate presented by remote servers—including self-signed, expired, or maliciously crafted certificates.
This insecure configuration creates a significant security gap that allows attackers positioned between the application and its intended destinations to intercept, modify, or capture sensitive data without triggering any security warnings or errors.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper implementation of TLS/SSL certificate handling within the application's HTTP client configuration. The developers set rejectUnauthorized: false to bypass certificate validation, likely to simplify development or testing environments, but this configuration was inadvertently left in production code. This practice completely undermines the trust model that TLS/SSL certificates are designed to provide.
Attack Vector
This vulnerability can be exploited over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker capable of positioning themselves in the network path between the SunbirdEd-portal application and its backend services (through ARP spoofing, DNS hijacking, or compromised network infrastructure) can perform man-in-the-middle attacks.
The attacker can present their own certificate to the application, which will be blindly accepted due to the disabled validation. This allows the attacker to decrypt, inspect, and potentially modify all HTTPS traffic between the application and remote services, leading to exposure of sensitive information including user credentials, session tokens, API keys, and personal data.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-70029
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual network traffic patterns indicating potential man-in-the-middle interception
- Certificate warnings or mismatches logged by network monitoring tools that the application ignores
- Unexpected connections to unknown or suspicious IP addresses from the SunbirdEd-portal application
- Evidence of credential theft or unauthorized access following use of the vulnerable portal
Detection Strategies
- Perform static code analysis to identify instances of rejectUnauthorized: false in HTTP client configurations
- Monitor network traffic for certificate anomalies where the application connects over HTTPS to services presenting untrusted certificates
- Review application logs for any SSL/TLS-related errors that may have been suppressed or ignored
Monitoring Recommendations
- Implement network-level certificate pinning validation through a proxy or firewall
- Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) to identify potential man-in-the-middle attack patterns
- Establish baseline network behavior and alert on deviations in HTTPS connection patterns
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-70029
Immediate Actions Required
- Remove or set to true the rejectUnauthorized option in all HTTP/HTTPS request configurations
- Upgrade to a patched version of SunbirdEd-portal when available from the vendor
- Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the vulnerable application
- Consider deploying a web application firewall (WAF) with TLS inspection capabilities
Patch Information
At the time of publication, no official vendor patch has been announced. Organizations should monitor the Sunbird-Ed GitHub repository and the SunbirdEd-portal project for security updates. Additional technical details regarding this vulnerability are available in the security researcher's disclosure.
Workarounds
- Manually modify the source code to enable proper certificate validation by setting rejectUnauthorized: true
- Deploy network-level controls to enforce certificate validation through a reverse proxy
- Restrict outbound network connections from the application server to known, trusted destinations only
- Implement additional authentication mechanisms that do not rely solely on transport security
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
