CVE-2025-11621
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 · uneditedVault and Vault Enterprise’s (“Vault”) AWS Auth method may be susceptible to authentication bypass if the role of the configured bound_principal_iam is the same across AWS accounts, or uses a wildcard. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-11621, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.21.0 and Vault Enterprise 1.21.0, 1.20.5, 1.19.11, and 1.16.27
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 confidenceVault's AWS Auth method contains an authentication bypass vulnerability where the bound_principal_iam constraint can be circumvented when the same IAM principal role name exists across multiple AWS accounts, or when a wildcard is used. This allows an attacker from one AWS account to authenticate to Vault using an IAM principal from another account if they share the same role name pattern.
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>= 0.6.0, < 1.16.27>= 0.6.0, < 1.21.0>= 1.18.0, <= 1.18.15>= 1.19.0, < 1.19.11>= 1.20.0, < 1.20.5CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Vault versionRun 'vault version' on the Vault server or check the /sys/health endpointAffected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 0.6.0 and < 1.16.27; >= 0.6.0 and < 1.21.0; >= 1.18.0 and <= 1.18.15; >= 1.19.0 and < 1.19.11; >= 1.20.0 and < 1.20.5
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Verify AWS Auth method is enabledRun 'vault auth list' or query the sys/auth endpoint to list enabled auth methodsAffected if The 'aws' auth method is listed as enabled
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Identify AWS auth roles with bound_principal_iamQuery all AWS auth roles using 'vault list auth/aws/roles' and for each role run 'vault read auth/aws/role/<role-name>' to inspect the bound_principal_iam fieldAffected if Any role has a value set for bound_principal_iam, especially if it uses wildcards or matches a pattern that could exist in other AWS accounts
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Check for cross-account IAM role name reuseReview the bound_principal_iam values for patterns that may exist across multiple AWS accounts (e.g., common role names like 'admin', 'developer', 'VaultRole')Affected if bound_principal_iam contains a role name that is likely to be reused in other AWS accounts or contains a wildcard pattern
A user is affected if they run a vulnerable Vault version with the AWS auth method enabled and have any roles configured with bound_principal_iam, particularly when those role names could exist in multiple AWS accounts or use wildcard patterns.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.16.271.19.111.20.5
Upgrade Vault to version 1.21.0 (Community) or Enterprise versions 1.21.0, 1.20.5, 1.19.11, or 1.16.27. Additionally, audit all AWS auth role configurations to ensure bound_principal_iam values are unique per AWS account and do not use overly permissive wildcards.
Vault CE 1.21.0 or Vault Enterprise 1.21.0/1.20.5/1.19.11/1.16.27
- 1. Back up your Vault data and configuration files before upgrading
- 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
- 3. For Vault Community Edition: upgrade to version 1.21.0 or later
- 4. For Vault Enterprise: upgrade to version 1.21.0, 1.20.5, 1.19.11, or 1.16.27 depending on your current version and support requirements
- 5. After upgrading, audit your AWS auth method role configurations
- 6. Remove any wildcard (*) settings in bound_principal_iam if used across multiple AWS accounts
- 7. Ensure bound_principal_iam is unique per AWS account if cross-account access is needed
- 8. Test the AWS authentication method to confirm it works correctly after the fix
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-11621 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-11621 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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