ChurchCRM up to 5.20.x setup/routes/setup.php code injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in ChurchCRM up to 5.20.x. This affects an unknown part of the file setup/routes/setup.php. This manipulation causes code injection. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-62521. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in ChurchCRM up to 5.20.x and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file setup/routes/setup.php. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a code injection vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-94. The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

ChurchCRM is an open-source church management system. Prior to version 5.21.0, a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in ChurchCRM's setup wizard allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary PHP code during the initial installation process, leading to complete server compromise. The vulnerability exists in `setup/routes/setup.php` where user input from the setup form is directly concatenated into a PHP configuration template without any validation or sanitization. Any parameter in the setup form can be used to inject PHP code that gets written to `Include/Config.php`, which is then executed on every page load. This is more severe than typical authenticated RCE vulnerabilities because it requires no credentials and affects the installation process that administrators must complete. Version 5.21.0 patches the issue.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-62521 since 10/15/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1059 for this issue.

By approaching the search of inurl:setup/routes/setup.php it is possible to find vulnerable targets with Google Hacking.

Upgrading to version 5.21.0 eliminates this vulnerability.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• ChurchCRM

Version

• 5.0
• 5.1
• 5.2
• 5.3
• 5.4
• 5.5
• 5.6
• 5.7
• 5.8
• 5.9
• 5.10
• 5.11
• 5.12
• 5.13
• 5.14
• 5.15
• 5.16
• 5.17
• 5.18
• 5.19
• 5.20

License

• open-source

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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