# CVE-2025-11165: Code injection in dotCMS

> Authenticated users with scripting privileges can bypass sandbox restrictions to execute arbitrary system commands on the server.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.4 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hwvv-m8xc-26x2

## What is CVE-2025-11165?

CVE-2025-11165 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Dotcms Dotcms, published on 24 Feb 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A sandbox escape vulnerability exists in dotCMS’s Velocity scripting engine (VTools) that allows authenticated users with scripting privileges to bypass class and package restrictions enforced by SecureUberspectorImpl.

By dynamically modifying the Velocity engine’s runtime configuration and reinitializing its Uberspect, a malicious actor can remove the introspector.restrict.classes and introspector.restrict.packages protections.

Once these restrictions are cleared, the attacker can access arbitrary Java classes, including java.lang.Runtime, and execute arbitrary system commands under the privileges of the application process (e.g. dotCMS or Tomcat user).

Weakness: CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-11165?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dotcms Dotcms.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-11165?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-11165 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-11165 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-11165 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dotcms Dotcms

- [CVE-2022-26352](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26352/): dotCMS Unrestricted Upload of File (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-19138](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-19138/): File upload in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-6754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-6754/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5344](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5344/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-2355](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2355/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-11165 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-11165 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Dotcms Dotcms, published on 24 Feb 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-11165 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dotcms Dotcms. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11165/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11165/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-11165
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-11165
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-11165

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-11165/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.