CVE-2025-24016: Wazuh Server Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

GHSA-hcrc-79hj-m3qh: Wazuh server vulnerable to remote code execution

Severity (GitHub)

critical

CVSS

9.9 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H/E:H

Weaknesses

CWE-502

Published

2025-04-22T16:53:39Z

Updated

2025-10-22T19:27:46Z

• go github.com/wazuh/wazuh: affected >= 4.4.0, < 4.9.1, first patched 4.9.1

### Summary
An unsafe deserialization vulnerability allows for remote code execution on Wazuh servers.
The vulnerability can be triggered by anybody with API access (compromised dashboard or Wazuh servers in the cluster) or, in certain configurations, even by a compromised agent.

### Details
DistributedAPI parameters are a serialized as JSON and deserialized using `as_wazuh_object` (in `framework/wazuh/core/cluster/common.py`). If an attacker manages to inject an unsanitized dictionary in DAPI request/response, they can forge an unhandled exception (`__unhandled_exc__`) to evaluate arbitrary python code.

Using the server API, it quite easy to trigger. For example, using the `run_as` endpoint (implemented by `run_as_login` in `api/api/controllers/security_controller.py`): the `auth_context` argument is completely controlled by the attacker, and is forwarded to the master server to handle. By sending a malicious `run_as` request to a worker server, it is possible to execute code on the master server.

It is also possible to exploit the bug as a compromised agent, in certain configurations.
A compromised agent can respond to a `getconfig` request with a malicious JSON object (containing a serialized unhandled exception). If the `getconfig` request was caused because of a server API request to `/agents/{agent_id}/config/{component}/{configuration}` (`api.controllers.agent_controller.get_agent_config`), and the agent is managed by a server other than the one that received the server API request, the unsafe deserialization will occur on the server that received the original server API request.

```
user server A server B agent
| | | |
| -get-config-> | | |
| | --get-config-dapi-> | |
| | | --getconf-> |
| | | <-payload-- |
| X <-----payload------ | |
| | | |
```

It is likely that there are more ways to reach the unsafe deserialization function (`as_wazuh_object`), some of them might even be accessible from different contexts (without credentials, or initiated by a compromised agent). I suggest fixing the root cause instead of attempting to sanitize inputs that reach it. Note that there are multiple other ways to execute arbitrary code in `as_wazuh_object`, easier by using a `__callable__`, or potentially abusing callable gadgets in `exception`, `wresults` or `Wazuh`.

### PoC
To trigger using the server API (assuming default credentials):
```bash
curl -X POST -k -u "wazuh-wui:MyS3cr37P450r.*-" -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data '{"__unhandled_exc__":{"__class__": "exit", "__args__": []}}' https://<worker-server>:55000/security/user/authenticate/run_as
```
this will shut down the master server.

### Impact
This is a remote code execution on Wazuh server, affecting the latest version (v4.9.0 at this time)

Read on 2026-11-03T05:52:34.222Z under licence ghsa-cc-by-4.0@9e5f1b3c from https://api.github.com/advisories/GHSA-hcrc-79hj-m3qh

GHSA-hcrc-79hj-m3qh

Also known as: CVE-2025-24016. OSV.dev record, GitHub advisory.

• Go github.com/wazuh/wazuh: introduced 4.4.0, fixed 4.9.1

Read on 2026-11-03T02:48:23.858Z under licence ghsa-cc-by-4.0@9e5f1b3c from https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/GHSA-hcrc-79hj-m3qh

CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

• Harden: Software Update (acts on Software)
• Harden: Trusted Library (acts on Subroutine)
• Model: Software Inventory (acts on Software)
• Model: Asset Vulnerability Enumeration (acts on Software)
• Harden: Domain Logic Validation (acts on Subroutine)
• Harden: Variable Initialization (acts on Subroutine)
• Harden: Credential Scrubbing (acts on Subroutine)
• Restore: Restore Software (acts on Software)
• Isolate: Application-based Process Isolation (acts on Subroutine)

D3FEND ontology version 1.6.0.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:56:57.230Z under licence d3fend-terms-of-use@f98cbc7e from https://d3fend.mitre.org/api/weakness/cwe/CWE-502.json