CVE-2025-53889: directus Auth Bypass — Fix

Description

Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Starting in version 9.12.0 and prior to version 11.9.0, Directus Flows with a manual trigger are not validating whether the user triggering the Flow has permissions to the items provided as payload to the Flow. Depending on what the Flow is set up to do this can lead to the Flow executing potential tasks on the attacker's behalf without authenticating. Bad actors could execute the manual trigger Flows without authentication, or access rights to the said collection(s) or item(s). Users with manual trigger Flows configured are impacted as these endpoints do not currently validate if the user has read access to `directus_flows` or to the relevant collection/items. The manual trigger Flows should have tighter security requirements as compared to webhook Flows where users are expected to perform do their own checks. Version 11.9.0 fixes the issue. As a workaround, implement permission checks for read access to Flows and read access to relevant collection/items.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-287 Improper Authentication

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
monospace	directus	9.12.0 — 11.9.0

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/directus/directus/commit/22be460c76957708d67fdd52846a9ad1cbb083fb

Other References

https://github.com/directus/directus/releases/tag/v11.9.0 https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-7cvf-pxgp-42fc

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-53889? +

Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Starting in version 9.12.0 and prior to version 11.9.0, Directus Flows with a manual trigger are not validating whether the user triggering the Flow has permissions to the items provided as payload to the Flow. Depending on what the Flow is set up to do this can lead to the Flow executing potential tasks on the attacker's behalf without authenticating. Bad actors could execute the manual trigger Flows without authentication, or access rights to the said collection(s) or item(s). Users with manual trigger Flows configured are impacted as these endpoints do not currently validate if the user has read access to `directus_flows` or to the relevant collection/items. The manual trigger Flows should have tighter security requirements as compared to webhook Flows where users are expected to perform do their own checks. Version 11.9.0 fixes the issue. As a workaround, implement permission checks for read access to Flows and read access to relevant collection/items. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-53889? +

CVE-2025-53889 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-53889? +

CVE-2025-53889 affects products from monospace, specifically: directus. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-53889? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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