dbcve.org
DotcmsApplication

CVE-2025-11165

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 24.12.27 / 25.07.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A sandbox escape vulnerability exists in dotCMS’s Velocity scripting engine (VTools) that allows authenticated users with scripting privileges to bypass class and package restrictions enforced by SecureUberspectorImpl. By dynamically modifying the Velocity engine’s runtime configuration and reinitializing its Uberspect, a malicious actor can remove the introspector.restrict.classes and introspector.restrict.packages protections. Once these restrictions are cleared, the attacker can access arbitrary Java classes, including java.lang.Runtime, and execute arbitrary system commands under the privileges of the application process (e.g. dotCMS or Tomcat user).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Authenticated users with scripting privileges can bypass SecureUberspectorImpl in dotCMS's Velocity engine by dynamically modifying runtime configuration and reinitializing the Uberspect, removing class/package restrictions. This enables access to java.lang.Runtime and arbitrary command execution as the application user.

MitigationMake security configuration immutable at runtime and prevent Uberspector reinitialization. Consider disabling dynamic Uberspector modifications entirely or implementing additional runtime integrity checks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DotcmsApplication
Affected:< 24.12.27>= 25.01.07, < 25.07.10

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify DotCMS version
    Check the installed DotCMS version (typically found in the admin panel under System > Information, or check the pom.xml/build.properties in the installation directory)
    Affected if The version is less than 24.12.27, or greater than or equal to 25.01.07 but less than 25.07.10
  2. Verify scripting user accounts
    Review user accounts in the DotCMS admin panel (Users section) and check which accounts have Velocity script or scripting privileges enabled
    Affected if Any authenticated user account has scripting/Velocity script permissions granted
  3. Confirm Uberspector configuration
    Inspect the Velocity engine configuration files (typically velocity.properties or similar) for the Uberspector implementation settings. Check if SecureUberspectorImpl is the configured Uberspector
    Affected if SecureUberspectorImpl is in use but runtime reconfiguration of the Uberspector is not explicitly blocked
  4. Check runtime modification capability
    Review whether the application allows dynamic runtime configuration changes to Velocity settings, particularly the ability to reinitialize Uberspect at runtime via scripting or API calls
    Affected if Runtime modification of Uberspector settings is permitted through scripting or admin APIs

You are affected if your DotCMS version falls in the vulnerable range and an authenticated user with scripting privileges exists and can modify Uberspector configuration at runtime.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 24.12.27 / 25.07.10 or later
Fixed in 24.12.2725.07.10
Interim mitigation

Make security configuration immutable at runtime and prevent Uberspector reinitialization. Consider disabling dynamic Uberspector modifications entirely or implementing additional runtime integrity checks.

Recommended fix High confidence

dotCMS 24.12.27 or later (24.x branch); dotCMS 25.07.10 or later (25.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed dotCMS version by checking the admin dashboard or the version.properties file in the dotcms application directory.
  2. 2. If running a version < 24.12.27, plan an upgrade to dotCMS version 24.12.27 or later.
  3. 3. If running version 25.01.07 through 25.07.09, plan an upgrade to dotCMS version 25.07.10 or later.
  4. 4. Before upgrading in production, test the new version in a staging environment to verify compatibility with existing custom code, themes, and plugins.
  5. 5. Perform a full backup of the database and dotCMS application files.
  6. 6. Follow the official dotCMS upgrade documentation for your specific version path.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify that Velocity sandbox restrictions are properly enforced by testing that restricted classes (e.g., java.lang.Runtime) cannot be accessed via Velocity templates.
Caveat Review dotCMS release notes for breaking changes between your current version and target version before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Dotcms Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation12.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
60.0 hours of engineering $10,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $16,896.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-11165 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-11165 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data