dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-3871

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Broken access control in Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT prior to 7.8.1 allows an attacker to create a denial of service situation when configured to use GoAnywhere One-Time Password (GOTP) email two-factor authentication (2FA) and the user has not set an email address. In this scenario, the attacker may enter the email address of a known user when prompted and the user will be disabled if that user has configured GOTP.

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

Broken access control vulnerability in Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT's GOTP email two-factor authentication allows an unauthenticated attacker to disable legitimate user accounts. When GOTP email 2FA is enabled and a user has not configured an email address, the system improperly processes email address input, causing the targeted user's account to be disabled upon the attacker entering that user's email address, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade GoAnywhere MFT to version 7.8.1 or later to address this vulnerability. Until upgraded, consider disabling GOTP email 2FA or ensuring all users have email addresses configured.

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

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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 GoAnywhere MFT installation and version
    Locate the GoAnywhere MFT installation directory and check the version file or use the admin console to view the product version. Compare the installed version to 7.8.1.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 7.8.1.
  2. Verify GOTP email 2FA is enabled
    Access the GoAnywhere MFT admin interface, navigate to Security Settings or User Authentication settings, and check whether GOTP email two-factor authentication is enabled for the system.
    Affected if GOTP email 2FA is currently enabled.
  3. Identify users without configured email addresses
    In the admin console, review all user accounts and check the email address field for each user. Look for users where the email address field is empty or not populated.
    Affected if Any user account exists without an email address configured while GOTP email 2FA is enabled.
  4. Check for unexpected account disablements
    Review system logs or audit logs for recent account disablement events. Check the admin console user list for any accounts showing as disabled that were not intentionally disabled by administrators.
    Affected if Legitimate user accounts are disabled without administrator action.

A user is affected if GoAnywhere MFT is below version 7.8.1, GOTP email 2FA is enabled, and any user account lacks a configured email address.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade GoAnywhere MFT to version 7.8.1 or later to address this vulnerability. Until upgraded, consider disabling GOTP email 2FA or ensuring all users have email addresses configured.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.8.1 or later

  1. Confirm the current version of GoAnywhere MFT by accessing the administration interface or checking the installation
  2. Backup the current GoAnywhere MFT configuration and database
  3. Review the release notes for version 7.8.1 to understand changes and ensure compatibility
  4. Upgrade GoAnywhere MFT to version 7.8.1 or later following the standard upgrade procedure
  5. After upgrade, verify the version has been successfully updated
  6. Test the GoAnywhere One-Time Password (GOTP) email two-factor authentication to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
  7. Ensure all users have valid email addresses configured, especially those using GOTP 2FA

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2025-3871 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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