Summary
Zot IdP group membership revocation ignored
The group data stored for users in the boltdb database (meta.db) is an append-list so group revocations/removals are ignored in the API.
Details
SetUserGroups is alled on login, but instead of replacing the group memberships, they are appended. This may be due to some conflict with the group definitions in the config file, but that wasn't obvious to me if it were the case.
PoC
Login with group claims, logout, remove the user from a group from at IdP and log in again, the API still grants access and the new list of groups is appended creating meaningless duplicate entries and no longer mathing the expected groups from the IdP. The behavior can be verified by seeing the API or UI still presenting images it should not or by viewing the data directly: bbolt get meta.db UserData <user>, eg:
Note this example also has duplicates due to group hierarchy changes that were left in the database.
Impact
Any Zot configuration that relies on group-based authorization will not respect group remove/revocation by an IdP.
The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.
CVE-2025-23208 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.1.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-23208? CVE-2025-23208 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in zotregistry.dev/zot (go), affecting versions <= 2.1.1. It is fixed in 2.1.2. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- How severe is CVE-2025-23208? CVE-2025-23208 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of zotregistry.dev/zot are affected by CVE-2025-23208? zotregistry.dev/zot (go) versions <= 2.1.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-23208? Yes. CVE-2025-23208 is fixed in 2.1.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-23208 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-23208 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-23208 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-23208? Upgrade
zotregistry.dev/zotto 2.1.2 or later.