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VaultApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2025-6000

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.16.23 / 1.18.12 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
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 privileged Vault operator within the root namespace with write permission to {{sys/audit}} may obtain code execution on the underlying host if a plugin directory is set in Vault’s configuration. Fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.20.1 and Vault Enterprise 1.20.1, 1.19.7, 1.18.12, and 1.16.23.

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

A privileged Vault operator with root namespace access and write permission to the sys/audit endpoint can achieve arbitrary code execution on the underlying host if a plugin directory is configured in Vault's configuration. This represents a privilege escalation from operator-level access to full host compromise.

MitigationUpgrade to Vault Community Edition 1.20.1 or Vault Enterprise versions 1.20.1, 1.19.7, 1.18.12, or 1.16.23. As a temporary mitigation, verify that no plugin directory is configured in Vault if immediate patching is not feasible.

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
VaultApplication
Affected:>= 0.8.0, < 1.16.23>= 0.8.0, < 1.20.1>= 1.17.0, < 1.18.12>= 1.19.0, < 1.19.7= 1.20.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Determine installed Vault version
    Run `vault version` or check the Vault binary with `vault --version`. Compare the version to the affected ranges: < 1.16.23, 1.17.0 to < 1.18.12, 1.19.0 to < 1.19.7, or exactly 1.20.0.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges (>= 0.8.0 and < 1.16.23; >= 1.17.0 and < 1.18.12; >= 1.19.0 and < 1.19.7; or version 1.20.0).
  2. Verify if plugin directory is configured
    Examine the Vault configuration file (commonly /etc/vault.d/vault.hcl or the configuration file specified at startup). Look for the `plugin_directory` setting. If present, note the configured path.
    Affected if A `plugin_directory` is explicitly configured in the Vault configuration.
  3. Check current namespace context
    Run `vault namespace list` to list available namespaces. Run `vault namespace lookup` or check the VAULT_NAMESPACE environment variable and token policies to determine if the current context has root namespace access.
    Affected if The operator has access to the root namespace (the namespace with no parent or the root-level namespace).
  4. Verify write access to sys/audit endpoint
    Run `vault audit list -detailed` to list enabled audit devices. Check token policies and ACL policies for `sudo` or `write` capability on `sys/audit` path. Use `vault token capabilities sys/audit` with the current token.
    Affected if The operator's token or policy grants write permission (create/update/delete) to the sys/audit endpoint.

The environment is affected if the installed Vault version is vulnerable AND a plugin directory is configured AND the operator has both root namespace access AND write permission to sys/audit.

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 1.16.23 / 1.18.12 / 1.19.7 or later
Fixed in 1.16.231.18.121.19.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Vault Community Edition 1.20.1 or Vault Enterprise versions 1.20.1, 1.19.7, 1.18.12, or 1.16.23. As a temporary mitigation, verify that no plugin directory is configured in Vault if immediate patching is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Vault Community Edition 1.20.1 or later; Vault Enterprise 1.20.1, 1.19.7, 1.18.12, or 1.16.23

  1. 1. Plan for a Vault maintenance window and ensure you have a complete backup of your Vault data and configuration files.
  2. 2. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to ensure compatibility with your specific setup and plugins.
  3. 3. Upgrade Vault to version 1.20.1 or higher (for Community Edition) or to one of the fixed versions: 1.20.1, 1.19.7, 1.18.12, or 1.16.23 (for Enterprise).
  4. 4. After upgrading, restart the Vault service to load the patched version.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Vault version with `vault version` and testing that audit functionality works correctly.
  6. 6. Review audit logs to confirm no unauthorized access occurred during the upgrade window.
Caveat Major Vault upgrades may introduce behavioral changes; test thoroughly in staging before production deployment

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

Fix this in Vault Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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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-2025-6000 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • 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