Apache Syncope AES Hard-coded Key Exposes User Passwords (fixed 3.0.15/4.0.3)
CVE-2025-65998 Published on November 24, 2025
Apache Syncope: Default AES key used for internal password encryption
Apache Syncope can be configured to store the user password values in the internal database with AES encryption, though this is not the default option.
When AES is configured, the default key value, hard-coded in the source code, is always used. This allows a malicious attacker, once obtained access to the internal database content, to reconstruct the original cleartext password values.
This is not affecting encrypted plain attributes, whose values are also stored using AES encryption.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.0.15 / 4.0.3, which fix this issue.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-65998 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity and availability.
Weakness Type
Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key
The use of a hard-coded cryptographic key significantly increases the possibility that encrypted data may be recovered.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-65998
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Affected Versions
Apache Software Foundation Apache Syncope:- Version 2.1, <= 2.1.14 is affected.
- Version 3.0, <= 3.0.14 is affected.
- Version 4.0, <= 4.0.2 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.