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Terraform ProviderApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2025-13357

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Vault’s Terraform Provider incorrectly set the default deny_null_bind parameter for the LDAP auth method to false by default, potentially resulting in an insecure configuration. If the underlying LDAP server allowed anonymous or unauthenticated binds, this could result in authentication bypass. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-13357, is fixed in Vault Terraform Provider v5.5.0.

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

The Vault Terraform Provider incorrectly set the default value of the `deny_null_bind` parameter to false for the LDAP auth method. This parameter is intended to prevent authentication when the LDAP bind password is null or empty. With the incorrect default of false, if the underlying LDAP server allows anonymous or unauthenticated binds, attackers could bypass Vault authentication entirely.

MitigationUpgrade the Vault Terraform Provider to v5.5.0 or later, and explicitly set `deny_null_bind = true` in all LDAP auth method configurations to prevent authentication bypass.

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
Terraform ProviderApplication
Affected:>= 4.2.0, < 5.5.0

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 Terraform Provider for Vault version
    Run 'terraform version' or inspect the .terraform.lock.hcl file to find the 'terraform-provider-vault' version entry
    Affected if The provider version is 4.2.0 or higher but lower than 5.5.0
  2. Verify LDAP auth method is configured in Vault
    Run 'vault read auth/ldap/config' to check if the LDAP auth method is enabled and configured
    Affected if The LDAP auth method is enabled and configured in Vault
  3. Inspect the deny_null_bind parameter value
    Run 'vault read auth/ldap/config' and look for the deny_null_bind field, or inspect Terraform state files for the ldap auth method resource configuration
    Affected if The deny_null_bind parameter is set to false, is not present, or is absent from the Terraform configuration (which defaults to false in affected versions)

You are affected if your Terraform Provider for Vault is version 4.2.0 to 5.4.x, you use LDAP auth method, and deny_null_bind is either not explicitly set to true or is explicitly set to false

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 5.5.0 or later
Fixed in 5.5.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Vault Terraform Provider to v5.5.0 or later, and explicitly set `deny_null_bind = true` in all LDAP auth method configurations to prevent authentication bypass.

Recommended fix High confidence

Vault Terraform Provider v5.5.0

  1. Download or update to Vault Terraform Provider v5.5.0 or later from the official Terraform registry or HashiCorp releases
  2. Update the provider version specification in your Terraform configuration files (e.g., terraform { required_providers { vault = { source = "hashicorp/vault" version = ">= 5.5.0" } } })
  3. Run 'terraform init -upgrade' or 'terraform get -update' to download and install the updated provider
  4. Run 'terraform plan' to review any changes in the provider behavior
  5. Apply 'terraform plan' to deploy the updated provider
  6. Verify that LDAP auth method configurations explicitly set deny_null_bind = true if needed for your security requirements
Caveat The default value for deny_null_bind changed from false to the correct secure default; existing configurations relying on the insecure default may need explicit configuration review

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

Fix this in Terraform Provider Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,100
Get the upgrade done

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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-2025-13357 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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