# CVE-2025-23044: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) allows creating admin account with POST request

> Attackers can create admin accounts via CSRF due to missing protections, allowing privilege escalation in PwnDoc.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 12 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9v2v-jxvw-52rq

## What is CVE-2025-23044?

CVE-2025-23044 is a medium-severity vulnerability in pwndoc, published on 20 Jan 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

PwnDoc is a penetration test report generator. There is no CSRF protection in pwndoc, allowing attackers to send requests on a logged-in user's behalf. This includes GET and POST requests due to the missing SameSite= attribute on cookies and the ability to refresh cookies. Commit 14acb704891245bf1703ce6296d62112e85aa995 patches the issue.

Weakness: CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-23044?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pwndoc Project Pwndoc.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-23044?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-23044 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-23044 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-23044 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in pwndoc

- [CVE-2022-45771](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45771/): File upload in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-31590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31590/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-55602](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-55602/): PenDoc vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read on updating and downloading templates using Path Traversal (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2025-27410](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27410/): PwnDoc Arbitrary File Write to RCE using Path Traversal in backup restore as admin (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2025-27413](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27413/): PwnDoc Arbitrary File Write to RCE using Path Traversal in template update from backup templates.json (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-23044 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-23044 is a medium-severity vulnerability in pwndoc, published on 20 Jan 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-23044 exists.

Affected product: pwndoc. 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-2025-23044/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-23044/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-23044
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-23044
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-23044

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-23044/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.