CVE-2025-12044: vault DoS — Fix

Description

Vault and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) are vulnerable to an unauthenticated denial of service when processing JSON payloads. This occurs due to a regression from a previous fix for [+HCSEC-2025-24+|https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vault-denial-of-service-though-complex-json-payloads/76393] which allowed for processing JSON payloads before applying rate limits. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-12044, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.21.0 and Vault Enterprise 1.16.27, 1.19.11, 1.20.5, and 1.21.0.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-770 CWE-770

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
hashicorp	vault	1.16.25 — 1.16.27
hashicorp	vault	1.18.14 — 1.18.15
hashicorp	vault	1.19.9 — 1.19.11
hashicorp	vault	1.20.3 — 1.20.5
hashicorp	vault	1.20.3 — 1.21.0

References

Advisories & Patches

https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-31-vault-vulnerable-to-denial-of-service-due-to-rate-limit-regression/76710

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-12044? +

Vault and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) are vulnerable to an unauthenticated denial of service when processing JSON payloads. This occurs due to a regression from a previous fix for [+HCSEC-2025-24+|https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vault-denial-of-service-though-complex-json-payloads/76393] which allowed for processing JSON payloads before applying rate limits. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-12044, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.21.0 and Vault Enterprise 1.16.27, 1.19.11, 1.20.5, and 1.21.0. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2025-12044? +

CVE-2025-12044 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-12044? +

CVE-2025-12044 affects products from hashicorp, specifically: vault. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-12044? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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