Authentication Bypass in Hermes by HashiCorp Affecting AWS ALB Integration

CVE-2025-1293

What is CVE-2025-1293?

CVE-2025-1293 is a vulnerability found in Hermes, a product developed by HashiCorp, which is designed to facilitate communication amongst distributed systems. This specific vulnerability relates to the improper validation of JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) when using AWS Application Load Balancer (ALB) authentication mode. If exploited, this vulnerability could allow unauthorized individuals to bypass authentication mechanisms, posing a significant security risk to organizations relying on Hermes for secure cloud operations.

Technical Details

The vulnerability arises from flaws in the JWT validation process within Hermes versions up to 0.4.0. These flaws potentially enable attackers to exploit the system by circumventing authentication checks, leading to unauthorized access. The issue has been addressed in version 0.5.0 of Hermes, which includes the necessary fixes to ensure proper validation of authentication tokens.

Potential Impact of CVE-2025-1293

1. Unauthorized Access: Exploiting this vulnerability could allow malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to protected resources, compromising sensitive data and internal systems.

2. Data Breach Risks: With authentication bypass capabilities, attackers could exfiltrate confidential information, leading to significant data breaches that expose both business and customer information.

3. System Integrity Threats: The ability to bypass authentication could also allow adversaries to alter system processes or configurations, potentially damaging the integrity and availability of services powered by Hermes in an organizational environment.

References