GHSA-mv7p-34fv-4874 Authentication Bypass via Default JWT Secret in NocoBase docker-compose Deployments

• npm @nocobase/auth: >= 1.9.0, < 1.9.23 → fixed in 1.9.23 • npm @nocobase/auth: < 1.9.0-beta.18 → fixed in 1.9.0-beta.18 • npm @nocobase/auth: >= 2.0.0-alpha.1, < 2.0.0-alpha.52 → fixed in 2.0.0-alpha.52

Impact CVE-2025-13877 is an authentication bypass vulnerability caused by insecure default JWT key usage in NocoBase Docker deployments. Because the official one-click Docker deployment configuration historically provided a public default JWT key, attackers can forge valid JWT tokens without possessing any legitimate credentials. By constructing a token with a known `userId` (commonly the administrator account), an attacker can directly bypass authentication and authorization checks. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to: • Bypass authentication entirely • Impersonate arbitrary users • Gain full administrator privileges • Access sensitive business data • Create, modify, or delete users • Access cloud storage credentials and other protected secrets The vulnerability is remotely exploitable, requires no authentication, and public proof-of-concept exploits are available. This issue is functionally equivalent in impact to other JWT secret exposure vulnerabilities such as CVE-2024-43441 and CVE-2025-30206. Deployments that used the default Docker configuration without explicitly overriding the JWT secret are affected. --- Patches ✅ The vulnerability has been fully patched through a secure JWT key management redesign. The remediation enforces the following security guarantees: • JWT secrets are no longer allowed to fall back to public default values. • Secrets must either: • Be explicitly provided by the user, or • Be securely generated using cryptographically strong randomness at first startup. • Generated secrets are persisted securely with restricted filesystem permissions. • Invalid or weak secret values immediately trigger a startup failure. ✅ Fixed Versions: • NocoBase ≥ 1.9.23 • NocoBase ≥ 1.9.0-beta.18 • NocoBase ≥ 2.0.0-alpha.52 --- Workarounds If upgrading is not immediately possible, the following temporary mitigations must be performed to reduce risk: 1. Explicitly set a strong, randomly generated JWT secret via environment variables `APP_KEY`. 2. Restart all running NocoBase instances so the new secret takes effect. 3. Invalidate all existing JWT sessions, forcing complete user re-authentication. 4. Verify that no default secret values are present in: • `docker-compose.yml` • `.env` files • Kubernetes Secrets --- References • CVE Record: CVE-2025-13877 • VulDB Entry: https://vuldb.com/?id.334033 • Public Exploit Proof: https://gist.github.com/H2u8s/f3ede60d7ecfe598ae452aa5a8fbb90d • Affected Default Docker Configurations: • https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docker/app-mysql/docker-compose.yml#L13 • https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docker/app-mariadb/docker-compose.yml#L13 • https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docker/app-postgres/docker-compose.yml#L11 • https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docker/app-sqlite/docker-compose.yml#L11 • Official Deployment Documentation: • https://docs.nocobase.com/welcome/getting-started/installation/docker-compose • https://v2.docs.nocobase.com/get-started/installation/docker