CVE-2025-65998: 
Java vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Apache Syncope has been identified with a critical security flaw (CVE-2025-65998) affecting versions 2.1 through 2.1.14, 3.0 through 3.0.14, and 4.0 through 4.0.2. The vulnerability relates to the use of a hard-coded AES encryption key for storing user passwords in the internal database, though this is not enabled by default. The issue was discovered by Clemens Bergmann from the Technical University of Darmstadt and was publicly disclosed on November 24, 2025 (OSS Security, Security Online).

The vulnerability stems from a design flaw where Apache Syncope uses a default AES encryption key that is hard-coded in the source code when configured to store user passwords with AES encryption in its internal database. This implementation has been classified with CWE-321 (Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5 (HIGH) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (NVD).

When AES encryption is enabled, an attacker who gains access to the internal database content can reconstruct the original cleartext password values due to the predictable encryption key. However, the vulnerability does not affect encrypted plain attributes, which use a separate encryption mechanism (Security Online).

Users are strongly recommended to upgrade to Apache Syncope version 3.0.15 or 4.0.3, which contain fixes for this vulnerability. No patch has been provided for the 2.1 series, and users of this version should upgrade to a supported release line (Security Online).

Apache has classified this vulnerability as 'Important' in their security advisory. The issue has gained attention in the security community due to its potential impact on enterprise environments using Apache Syncope for identity management (Security Online).