# CVE-2025-12044: Hashicorp Vault and Vault Enterprise vulnerable to a denial of service when processing JSON

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2025-12044-hashicorp-vault-and-vault-enterprise-vulnerable-to-a-denial-of  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2025-10-23  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2025-12044 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2025-10-23

Vault and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) are vulnerable to an unauthenticated denial of service when processing JSON payloads. This occurs due to a regression from a previous fix for [+HCSEC-2025-24+|https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2025-24-vault-denial-of-service-though-complex-json-payloads/76393]  which allowed for processing JSON payloads before applying rate limits. This vulnerability, CVE-2025-12044, is fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.21.0 and Vault Enterprise 1.16.27, 1.19.11, 1.20.5, and 1.21.0.

Technologies: [github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/github-com-hashicorp-vault), [HashiCorp Vault](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/vault). Vendors: [Go](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/go), [HashiCorp](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/hashicorp).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2025-12044 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2025-12044 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2025-12044?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 23 October 2025.

**Which products and versions are affected?** github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go) SEMVER:introduced=1.20.3,fixed=1.21.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2025-12044?** Yes. github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): upgrade to 1.21.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**Am I affected by CVE-2025-12044?** Check whether you run github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go) or HashiCorp Vault at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go): upgrade to 1.21.0 or later

  ```sh
  go get github.com/hashicorp/vault@v1.21.0
  ```


## Affected products

- github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go) SEMVER:introduced=1.20.3,fixed=1.21.0
- HashiCorp Vault

## Identifiers

- CVE-2025-12044
- GHSA-vp5w-xcfc-73wf
- GO-2025-4071

## Related threats

- [HashiCorp Vault privilege escalation in templated policy paths](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-5006-hashicorp-vault-privilege-escalation-in-templated-policy-paths)
- [HashiCorp Vault ACL policy engine authorization bypass in LIST requests](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-12624-hashicorp-vault-acl-policy-engine-authorization-bypass-in-list)
- [HashiCorp Vault path traversal in audit device validation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-5051-hashicorp-vault-path-traversal-in-audit-device-validation)
- [HashiCorp Vault denial of service in root token generation and rekeying](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-5807-hashicorp-vault-denial-of-service-in-root-token-generation-and)
- [HashiCorp Vault SSRF in PKI engine ACME validation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-5052-hashicorp-vault-ssrf-in-pki-engine-acme-validation)