CVE-2025-31685 in Open Social
Summary
by MITRE • 04/01/2025
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Drupal Open Social allows Forceful Browsing.This issue affects Open Social: from 0.0.0 before 12.3.11, from 12.4.0 before 12.4.10.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-31685 represents a critical missing authorization flaw within the Drupal Open Social platform that enables forceful browsing attacks. This weakness allows authenticated users to bypass intended access controls and potentially access restricted content or functionality that should be protected from their current privilege level. The vulnerability manifests specifically in the authorization mechanisms that govern user permissions and resource access within the social networking platform. Forceful browsing occurs when an attacker manipulates application flow by directly accessing resources or functionality without proper authentication or authorization checks, effectively circumventing the intended security controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of user permissions during resource access requests. In Drupal Open Social, the authorization subsystem fails to properly verify that users possess the necessary privileges before granting access to specific content or administrative functions. This flaw exists across multiple version ranges, specifically affecting releases from 0.0.0 before 12.3.11 and from 12.4.0 before 12.4.10, indicating that the issue has persisted through several major releases. The vulnerability operates at the application logic level where access control decisions are made, allowing authenticated users to traverse the application's navigation structure and access resources that should be restricted based on user roles or permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can enable privilege escalation and unauthorized access to sensitive administrative functions. Attackers leveraging this weakness can potentially access user profiles, private messages, content management interfaces, or other restricted administrative areas without proper authorization. This represents a significant threat to the confidentiality and integrity of the social platform's data, as it allows unauthorized users to gain access to information that should remain protected within the system's security boundaries. The vulnerability particularly impacts organizations that rely on Drupal Open Social for community management, as it undermines the fundamental security model that separates user roles and access levels.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of Drupal Open Social should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions 12.3.11 and 12.4.10 where available. Additionally, administrators should conduct thorough access control reviews and implement network-level restrictions to limit exposure. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts, as it allows unauthorized access through legitimate user accounts. Security teams should also consider implementing additional monitoring for unusual access patterns and unauthorized resource requests, as this type of vulnerability often manifests through automated scanning or manual navigation attempts that deviate from normal user behavior.