External risk intelligence

Pagekit CMS Privilege Escalation via Insecure Direct Object Reference

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2025-67165

Pagekit is a content management system (CMS) designed to power websites. CMS platforms are typically deployed as public-facing web applications to serve content to internet users, making the administrative and user-accessible interfaces commonly reachable from the public internet.

Pagekit

1.0.18

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in the Pagekit content management system that could allow unauthorized individuals to gain administrative privileges. This issue stems from how the system handles direct object references, potentially enabling attackers to escalate their access without needing legitimate credentials. The primary concern is to confirm if this specific version of Pagekit is in use within your environment and assess the potential exposure.

  • Unrestricted access allows privilege escalation.
  • Critical flaw could impact website administration.
  • Confirm Pagekit usage and assess exposure.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted request to a Pagekit CMS instance. This request would target an Insecure Direct Object Reference, allowing the attacker to manipulate object access. If successful, this could lead to privilege escalation, granting the attacker higher access levels than they should have.

  • Unauthenticated network access required.
  • Direct object reference manipulation.
  • Unauthorized privilege escalation risk.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain administrative privileges within a Pagekit CMS, potentially leading to the modification or deletion of website content and sensitive data. This risk exists when the CMS is accessible over a network and the specific insecure direct object reference is exposed.

  • Website content and administrative access.
  • Unauthenticated network access to the CMS.
  • Unauthorized control over the website.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The critical privilege escalation vulnerability in Pagekit CMS impacts systems managed by web application owners, platform teams, and potentially security operations teams responsible for monitoring external-facing applications. The first practical step is to identify all instances of the affected CMS, determine their exposure to the internet, assess their business criticality, and locate the accountable system owner for coordinated remediation planning.

  • Application owners should own this issue.
  • Verify external reachability and criticality first.
  • Plan remediation and coordinate with vendors.

Supplementary metadata

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pagekit CMS?

Pagekit is a modular, open-source content management system built with PHP and the Vue.js framework. It provides a web-based interface for users to build and manage website content, themes, and extensions. Developers and site administrators use it to create responsive digital experiences, meaning it is typically hosted on web servers to manage interactions between the site's backend database and the public-facing content.

What does CVE-2025-67165 mean by Insecure Direct Object Reference?

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-639, or Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key. It happens when an application uses an internal identifier—like a database key or user ID—to retrieve objects without checking if the user actually has permission to access that specific item. In this case, the flaw allows an attacker to manipulate those references to gain administrative privileges they should not have.

How does an attacker trigger this Pagekit vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this by sending a specially crafted network request to the Pagekit CMS. This request is designed to manipulate the direct object references the system uses to manage access. It is important to note that this flaw does not require the attacker to have legitimate login credentials or perform prior authentication to attempt this manipulation; the system fails to validate the user's rights during the request process.

Is my Pagekit instance at risk?

Halo Surface Signal notes that CMS platforms like Pagekit are commonly deployed as public-facing web applications to serve content to internet users. Because this vulnerability allows for unauthenticated access, any instance reachable from the public internet is at higher risk. You should determine if your specific installation is exposed to the network or restricted to internal users.

What should I do if I run Pagekit CMS?

Your first step is to conduct an inventory to identify all active instances of Pagekit 1.0.18 within your environment. Once identified, verify their network accessibility and business criticality. Engage with the system owners to coordinate a response plan, focusing on restricting unnecessary network reachability while you monitor for updates or vendor guidance to address the underlying software flaw.

References