CVE-2025-55003: openbao Brute Force — Fix

Description

OpenBao exists to provide a software solution to manage, store, and distribute sensitive data including secrets, certificates, and keys. In versions 2.3.1 and below, OpenBao's Login Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) system allows enforcing MFA using Time-based One Time Password (TOTP). Due to normalization applied by the underlying TOTP library, codes were accepted which could contain whitespace; this whitespace could bypass internal rate limiting of the MFA method and allow reuse of existing MFA codes. This issue was fixed in version 2.3.2. To work around this, use of rate-limiting quotas can limit an attacker's ability to exploit this: https://openbao.org/api-docs/system/rate-limit-quotas/.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.7

MEDIUM

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

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-307 CWE-307

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
openbao	openbao	< 2.3.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/openbao/openbao/commit/8340a6918f6c41d8f75b6c3845c376d9dc32ed19 https://github.com/openbao/openbao/security/advisories/GHSA-rxp7-9q75-vj3p

Other References

https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-19-vault-login-mfa-bypass-of-rate-limiting-and-totp-token-reuse/76038

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-55003? +

OpenBao exists to provide a software solution to manage, store, and distribute sensitive data including secrets, certificates, and keys. In versions 2.3.1 and below, OpenBao's Login Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) system allows enforcing MFA using Time-based One Time Password (TOTP). Due to normalization applied by the underlying TOTP library, codes were accepted which could contain whitespace; this whitespace could bypass internal rate limiting of the MFA method and allow reuse of existing MFA codes. This issue was fixed in version 2.3.2. To work around this, use of rate-limiting quotas can limit an attacker's ability to exploit this: https://openbao.org/api-docs/system/rate-limit-quotas/. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.7 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-55003? +

CVE-2025-55003 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.7 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-55003? +

CVE-2025-55003 affects products from openbao, specifically: openbao. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-55003? +

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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