CVE-2025-48828 in the critical feed json
Certain vBulletin versions might allow attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code by abusing Template Conditionals in the template engine.
published 2025-05-27 17 mo ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2025-28268
- cvss
- 9.0
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 57.3%
- EPSS 57.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99%
- public exploits
- 1
- Metasploit, plus a Nuclei check
Summary
Certain vBulletin versions might allow attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code by abusing Template Conditionals in the template engine. By crafting template code in an alternative PHP function invocation syntax, such as the "var_dump"("test") syntax, attackers can bypass security checks and execute arbitrary PHP code, as exploited in the wild in May 2025.
Timeline
- First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/multi/http/vbulletin_replace_ad_template_rce)
- Published
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- Proof of concept is public
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
- Assessed
- 17 mo ago
Exploit prediction
57.30% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Exploits and checks
- Metasploit exploit/multi/http/vbulletin_replace_ad_template_rce vBulletin replaceAdTemplate Remote Code Execution metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2025-05-23
- Nuclei template vBulletin replaceAdTemplate - Remote Code Execution nuclei detection template
- blog.kevintel.com https://blog.kevintel.com/vbulletin-replaceadtemplate-kev/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
- karmainsecurity.com https://karmainsecurity.com/dont-call-that-protected-method-vbulletin-rce referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 9.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVD | 3.1 | 8.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected products
- vBulletin vBulletin
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-424 Improper Protection of Alternate Path
References
-
blog.kevintel.com
/vbulletin-replaceadtemplate-kev/
exploit, broken-link
-
karmainsecurity.com
/dont-call-that-protected-method-vbulletin-rce
exploit, third-party-advisory
-
kevintel.com
/CVE-2025-48828
third-party-advisory
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2025-48828
- NVD CVE-2025-48828
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.
CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.