CVE-2025-56749 in Academy LMS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/15/2025
Creativeitem Academy LMS up to and including 6.14 uses a hardcoded default JWT secret for token signing. This predictable secret allows attackers to forge valid JWT tokens, leading to authentication bypass and unauthorized access to any user account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-56749 affects Creativeitem Academy LMS versions 6.14 and earlier, presenting a critical security flaw that undermines the system's authentication mechanisms. This issue stems from the application's implementation of JSON Web Token (JWT) authentication where a hardcoded default secret is used for token signing operations. The presence of such a static secret within the application code represents a fundamental security misconfiguration that directly violates industry best practices for cryptographic key management. The hardcoded nature of this secret means that any attacker who can obtain this value through reverse engineering, source code analysis, or other means can immediately generate valid authentication tokens for any user account within the system.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability operates at the core of the application's authentication architecture, specifically targeting the JWT token generation and validation processes. The flaw manifests as a weakness in the cryptographic implementation where the same secret key is embedded within the application binaries or configuration files, making it accessible to anyone with sufficient access to examine the application components. This hardcoded secret serves as the foundation for all token signing operations, meaning that successful exploitation requires only knowledge of this single value rather than complex cryptographic attacks or privilege escalation techniques. The predictable nature of the secret creates a direct path to unauthorized system access, as demonstrated by the ability to forge tokens that will be accepted by the authentication system without additional verification steps.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially enabling attackers to achieve complete system compromise through lateral movement and privilege escalation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability gains the ability to impersonate any user within the system, including administrators, which could lead to data exfiltration, modification of course content, unauthorized user account creation, and complete disruption of the learning management system operations. The implications are particularly severe given that JWT tokens are commonly used for maintaining session state and user authentication across multiple system components, meaning a single compromised token could provide access to interconnected services and databases. This vulnerability effectively nullifies the security benefits of the JWT authentication framework, transforming it from a protective mechanism into a vector for unauthorized access.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-320, which specifically addresses "Cryptographic Issues" related to the use of hardcoded cryptographic keys, and reflects patterns commonly found in ATT&CK technique T1566, focusing on credential access through exploitation of weak authentication mechanisms. Organizations utilizing Creativeitem Academy LMS versions 6.14 or earlier should immediately implement mitigations including the generation and deployment of unique, randomly generated JWT secrets for each installation, followed by a complete reissuance of all existing tokens to prevent exploitation of any previously generated tokens. Additionally, system administrators should conduct thorough code reviews to identify any other hardcoded secrets or cryptographic values, implement proper key rotation procedures, and ensure that all authentication components utilize dynamically generated secrets rather than static values embedded within application code. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of following secure coding practices and proper cryptographic implementation guidelines as outlined in NIST SP 800-57 and other industry standards for cryptographic key management.