ModSecurity's Insufficient Return Value Handling can Lead to XSS and Source Code Disclosure
Published Aug 5, 2025
6.9
MEDIUMCVSS 4.0
EPSS 0.28%
Description
ModSecurity is an open source, cross platform web application firewall (WAF) engine for Apache, IIS and Nginx. In versions 2.9.11 and below, an attacker can override the HTTP response’s Content-Type, which could lead to several issues depending on the HTTP scenario. For example, we have demonstrated the potential for XSS and arbitrary script source code disclosure in the latest version of mod_security2. This issue is fixed in version 2.9.12.
Affected products
-
- Version < 2.9.12StatusaffectedConstraints-
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owasp-Modsecurity | ModSecurity | n/a |
|
- ≥ 2.0.0 · < 2.9.12
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
mod_security
Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
mod_security
Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
mod_security
Fix deferred
Red Hat JBoss Core Services
mod_security
Fix deferred
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | mod_security | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | mod_security | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | mod_security | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services | mod_security | Fix deferred | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Metrics
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
1 other source (NVD) ▾
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v2.0 score for this CVE.
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
PoCAutomatable
YesTechnical Impact
PartialDecision
n/aAssessed Aug 6, 2025 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 3, 2026.
Score over time
2025–2026- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (3 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | 0.28% (0.00280) | 18.59th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.26% (0.00263) | 17.47th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Aug 6, 2025 | 0.04% (0.00040) | 10.95th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
References (8)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-54571 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2386666 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/commit/6d7e8eb18f2d7d368fb8e29516fcdeaeb8d349b8 x_refsource_MISCPatch
- https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/issues/2514 x_refsource_MISCExploitIssue Tracking
- https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/security/advisories/GHSA-cg44-9m43-3f9v exploitx_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/09/msg00008.html
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-54571
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-54571
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-54571 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2386666 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/commit/6d7e8eb18f2d7d368fb8e29516fcdeaeb8d349b8 | x_refsource_MISCPatch | |
| https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/issues/2514 | x_refsource_MISCExploitIssue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity/security/advisories/GHSA-cg44-9m43-3f9v | exploitx_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory | |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/09/msg00008.html | ||
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-54571 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-54571 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.