CVE-2025-55740

CVSS 6.5 MediumEPSS 0.1%
  • CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
  • Published: 2025-08-19T20:15:35.467

nginx-defender is a high-performance, enterprise-grade Web Application Firewall (WAF) and threat detection system engineered for modern web infrastructure. This is a configuration vulnerability affecting nginx-defender deployments. Example configuration files
config.yaml and docker-compose.yml contain default credentials (default_password: “change_me_please”, GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123). If users deploy nginx-defender without changing these defaults, attackers with network access could gain administrative control, bypassing security protections. The issue is addressed in v1.5.0 and later.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

No vendor taxonomy on this entry.

Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2025-55740

CVE-2025-55740 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: nginx-defender is a high-performance, enterprise-grade Web Application Firewall (WAF) and threat detection system engineered for modern web infrastructure. This is a configuration vulnerability affecting nginx-defender deployments. Example configuration files config.yaml and docker-compose.yml contain default credentials (default_password: “change_me_please”, GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123). If users deploy nginx-defender without changing these defaults, attackers with network access could gain administrative control, bypassing […]

Exploit Difficulty: EASY
⏱️ Time to exploit: < 1 hour
🛠️ Required skills: Basic web security knowledge
💰 Public exploits: Likely available

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

EASY
⏱️ Time to Exploit: < 1 hour
🛠️ Skills Required: Basic web security knowledge
💰 Public Exploits: Likely available

Vulnerability Timeline

Aug 19, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.