Summary
AstrBot uses a hard-coded JWT signing key, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands by installing a malicious plugin.
Details
AstrBot uses a hard-coded JWT signing key, which allows attackers to bypass the authentication mechanism. Once bypassed, the attacker can install a Python plugin that will be imported here, enabling arbitrary command execution on the target host.
Impact
All publicly accessible AstrBot instances are vulnerable.
For more information, please see: CVE-2025-55449-AstrBot-RCE
Credentials are embedded in source code or a binary, making them accessible to anyone who can read the artifact. Typical impact: unauthorized access using the static credential.
CVE-2025-55449 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). 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 (3.5.18); 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.
Remediation advice
This vulnerability was first reported on 2025-06-21 and was patched on the same day (2025-06-21).
The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on 2025-11-14. Prior to public disclosure, monitoring from AstrBot Cloud indicated that fewer than 2% of deployed instances were still running the affected version. Therefore, this disclosure is not expected to have a significant impact on existing active instances.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-55449? CVE-2025-55449 is a critical-severity use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability in astrbot (pip), affecting versions < 3.5.18. It is fixed in 3.5.18. Credentials are embedded in source code or a binary, making them accessible to anyone who can read the artifact.
- How severe is CVE-2025-55449? CVE-2025-55449 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). 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 astrbot are affected by CVE-2025-55449? astrbot (pip) versions < 3.5.18 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-55449? Yes. CVE-2025-55449 is fixed in 3.5.18. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-55449 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-55449 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-2025-55449 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-2025-55449? Upgrade
astrbotto 3.5.18 or later.