CVE-2025-61639 in MediaWiki
Summary
by MITRE • 02/03/2026
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in Wikimedia Foundation MediaWiki. This vulnerability is associated with program files includes/logging/ManualLogEntry.Php, includes/recentchanges/RecentChangeFactory.Php, includes/recentchanges/RecentChangeStore.Php.
This issue affects MediaWiki: from * before 1.39.14, 1.43.4, 1.44.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/16/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-61639 represents a critical exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized actors within the Wikimedia Foundation MediaWiki platform. This security flaw resides in three key program files including logging/ManualLogEntry.Php, recentchanges/RecentChangeFactory.Php, and recentchanges/RecentChangeStore.Php, which collectively handle logging and recent changes functionality within the MediaWiki ecosystem. The vulnerability affects multiple version ranges including versions prior to 1.39.14, 1.43.4, and 1.44.1, indicating a widespread impact across several major release branches of the software. This exposure occurs when the system fails to properly restrict access to sensitive information that should be protected from unauthorized users, potentially allowing malicious actors to gain access to data that should remain confidential within the platform.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls and information disclosure mechanisms within the MediaWiki logging infrastructure. When processing log entries and recent changes data, the affected components fail to properly validate user permissions or sanitize output data before rendering it to end users. This flaw allows attackers to potentially access sensitive metadata, user activity logs, or system information that should only be visible to authorized administrators or privileged users. The vulnerability manifests through the manipulation of request parameters or direct access to the affected PHP files, where insufficient input validation or output encoding leads to the exposure of confidential data streams. The root cause aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses the exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized actors, and represents a classic case of inadequate access control implementation within web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially compromise the entire platform security posture. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gather intelligence about user activities, system configurations, or administrative operations within the MediaWiki environment. The exposure of recent changes data and log entries could reveal patterns of user behavior, content creation activities, or system maintenance schedules that could be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks. Additionally, the vulnerability affects core functionality components that are integral to MediaWiki's operation, meaning that the exploitation could potentially disrupt normal platform operations or provide attackers with insights to target other system components. This issue particularly impacts collaborative platforms where MediaWiki serves as the foundation for content management, as the exposure of user activities and system information could compromise the privacy of contributors or reveal internal operational details.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-61639 should prioritize immediate patching of affected MediaWiki versions to the recommended secure releases. Organizations maintaining MediaWiki installations should implement strict access controls and input validation measures to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive logging and recent changes functionality. The implementation of proper authentication checks and authorization validation within the affected PHP components is essential to prevent information exposure. Security teams should also consider implementing network-level protections and monitoring systems to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting these specific file paths. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1071.004 for Application Layer Protocol: DNS and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers may leverage the exposed information for more targeted social engineering campaigns. Regular security audits of MediaWiki installations should include verification of proper access controls within logging and change tracking components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future versions or custom modifications to the platform.