CVE-2025-54998: openbao Brute Force — Fix

Description

OpenBao exists to provide a software solution to manage, store, and distribute sensitive data including secrets, certificates, and keys. In versions 0.1.0 through 2.3.1, attackers could bypass the automatic user lockout mechanisms in the OpenBao Userpass or LDAP auth systems. This was caused by different aliasing between pre-flight and full login request user entity alias attributions. This is fixed in version 2.3.2. To work around this issue, existing users may apply rate-limiting quotas on the authentication endpoints:, see https://openbao.org/api-docs/system/rate-limit-quotas/.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.3

MEDIUM

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

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-307 CWE-307

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
openbao	openbao	< 2.3.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/openbao/openbao/commit/c52795c1ef746c7f2c510f9225aa8ccbbd44f9fc https://github.com/openbao/openbao/security/advisories/GHSA-j3xv-7fxp-gfhx

Other References

https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-16-vault-userpass-and-ldap-user-lockout-bypass/76035

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-54998? +

OpenBao exists to provide a software solution to manage, store, and distribute sensitive data including secrets, certificates, and keys. In versions 0.1.0 through 2.3.1, attackers could bypass the automatic user lockout mechanisms in the OpenBao Userpass or LDAP auth systems. This was caused by different aliasing between pre-flight and full login request user entity alias attributions. This is fixed in version 2.3.2. To work around this issue, existing users may apply rate-limiting quotas on the authentication endpoints:, see https://openbao.org/api-docs/system/rate-limit-quotas/. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-54998? +

CVE-2025-54998 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3 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-2025-54998? +

CVE-2025-54998 affects products from openbao, specifically: openbao. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-54998? +

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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