Overview
Directus, a widely used real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content, is known for its ability to handle a wide range of applications. However, a recently discovered vulnerability, CVE-2025-30353, has been identified in versions 9.12.0 to 11.5.0 of this popular platform. This vulnerability is notable due to its potential to expose sensitive data, including environmental variables, sensitive API keys, user accountability information, and operational data. Such exposure can lead to system compromise or data leakage, posing a significant risk to any organization utilizing affected versions of Directus.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-30353
Severity: Critical, CVSS score 8.6
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
No phone number, email, or personal info required.
Product | Affected Versions
Directus | 9.12.0 to 11.5.0
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability occurs when Directus, having a Flow with the “Webhook” trigger and the “Data of Last Operation” response body, encounters a ValidationError due to a failed condition operation. In such a case, the API response includes a significant amount of sensitive data. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by deliberately triggering a ValidationError and then capturing the sensitive data included in the API response.
Conceptual Example Code
A potential exploitation of the vulnerability could involve a malicious actor sending an API request with data that will fail validation. This could look something like the following HTTP request:
POST /api/flow/validation HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"trigger": "Webhook",
"responseBody": "Data of Last Operation",
"data": {"malicious_payload": "known_to_fail_validation"}
}In response to this request, the server would return a ValidationError with sensitive data included.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is strongly advised to apply the vendor patch by upgrading to version 11.5.0 or later of Directus. If this is not immediately possible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can offer temporary mitigation. However, these measures simply reduce the risk of exploitation and do not eliminate the vulnerability. Therefore, it is crucial to update Directus to a patched version as soon as possible.