RCE in Churchcrm
CVE-2025-62521
ChurchCRM is an open-source church management system. Prior to version 5.21.0, a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in ChurchCRM's setup wizard allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary PHP code during the initial installation process, leading to complete server compromise. The vulnerability exists in `setup/routes/setup.php` where user input from the setup form is directly concatenated into a PHP configuration template without any validation or sanitization. Any parameter in the setup form can be used to inject PHP code that gets written to `Include/Config.php`, which is then executed on every page load. This is more severe than typical authenticated RCE vulnerabilities because it requires no credentials and affects the installation process that administrators must complete. Version 5.21.0 patches the issue.
Vulnerability class: RCE (Remote Code Execution)
EPSS: 0.046 (91.0th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 10.0 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Churchcrm
- Churchcrm Crm — versions < 5.21.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Exploit, Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-62521?
- CVE-2025-62521 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Churchcrm, classified under Code Injection. CVSS score: 10.0/10. Published 2025-12-17.
- How severe is CVE-2025-62521?
- Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 10.0 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-62521 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.