A security vulnerability affecting multiple WSO2 products has been disclosed, allowing malicious actors to reset passwords for any user account and achieve complete account takeover.
Designated as CVE-2024-6914 and published on May 22, 2025, this vulnerability carries a severe CVSS score of 9.8, indicating an extremely high risk to organizations using affected WSO2 products.
The flaw stems from an incorrect authorization mechanism within the account recovery-related SOAP admin services, creating a pathway for unauthorized password manipulation across user accounts, including those with elevated administrative privileges.
The security flaw originates from a business logic error in WSO2’s account recovery functionality, specifically within the SOAP admin services framework.
This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the account recovery mechanism by targeting the SOAP admin services exposed through the “/services” context path in affected WSO2 products.
The incorrect authorization implementation fails to properly validate user permissions during the password reset process, enabling malicious actors to circumvent normal security controls.
The attack vector requires access to the SOAP admin services endpoints, which are typically exposed in default WSO2 configurations.
Once an attacker identifies these endpoints, they can leverage the flawed business logic to initiate password reset requests for arbitrary user accounts without proper authorization checks.
This exploitation method does not require prior authentication or special privileges, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with publicly accessible WSO2 deployments.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the fundamental breakdown of authorization controls within the SOAP service layer.
Unlike typical authentication bypasses that might require credential theft or social engineering, this flaw allows direct manipulation of account credentials through legitimate service interfaces that have been improperly secured.
Critical Impact and Risk Assessment
The severity rating of 9.8 reflects the extensive damage potential of this vulnerability. Successful exploitation enables complete account takeover scenarios, where attackers gain full control over victim accounts by resetting their passwords.
This access extends beyond regular user accounts to include administrative and privileged accounts, potentially granting attackers comprehensive control over WSO2 infrastructure and associated applications.
Organizations face significant risks including unauthorized access to sensitive data, system manipulation, and potential lateral movement within network environments.
The ability to compromise administrative accounts amplifies these risks exponentially, as attackers could modify system configurations, access confidential information, or establish persistent backdoors for future exploitation.
The widespread nature of WSO2 product deployments across enterprise environments means that numerous organizations may be vulnerable to this attack vector.
Companies utilizing WSO2 products for identity management, API gateways, or integration services face particular exposure, as these systems often contain sensitive authentication and authorization data.
Strategies and Security Recommendations
WSO2 has emphasized that organizations can significantly reduce their exposure by implementing security guidelines for production deployments, particularly by restricting access to the vulnerable SOAP admin service endpoints.
The primary mitigation strategy involves limiting network access to the “/services” context path, ensuring these endpoints are not exposed to untrusted networks or unauthorized users.
Immediate protective measures include implementing network-level access controls, such as firewall rules or network segmentation, to prevent external access to SOAP admin services.
Organizations should also conduct thorough audits of their WSO2 deployments to identify exposed endpoints and implement appropriate access restrictions.
Security teams should prioritize patching efforts once vendor updates become available, as this vulnerability represents a critical threat to organizational security.
Additionally, monitoring for unusual password reset activities and implementing enhanced logging for SOAP service access can help detect potential exploitation attempts.
Organizations should also review their current security configurations against WSO2’s production deployment guidelines to ensure comprehensive protection against this and similar vulnerabilities.
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