CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2025-62521 — ChurchCRM is an open-source church management system

Critical CVSS 10

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.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
10 (3.1)
Published
2025-12-17
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-94

Affected products

  • churchcrm / churchcrm

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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