Security researchers at Assetnote discovered that the software’s templating system evaluates content between [% %] markers as executable Perl code, creating a direct pathway for remote code execution. A critical remote code execution vulnerability has been discovered in Lighthouse Studio, one of the most widely deployed yet relatively unknown survey software platforms developed by Sawtooth Software. The flaw, designated CVE-2025-34300, affects the Perl CGI scripts that power web-based surveys, potentially exposing thousands of hosting servers to complete compromise by attackers who possess nothing more than a survey link. Lighthouse Studio operates through a dual architecture consisting of a Windows desktop application for survey creation and a collection of Perl CGI scripts deployed on web servers to handle respondent interactions. Cyber Security News is a Dedicated News Platform For Cyber News, Cyber Attack News, Hacking News & Vulnerability Analysis. For older software versions that implement basic input filtering, researchers discovered a bypass technique using duplicate parameter names: hid_Random_ACARAT=[%257*7%25]&hid_Random_ACARAT=x. Attackers can exploit this by injecting malicious payloads through the hid_Random_ACARAT parameter, such as [%257*7%25], which gets processed by the templating engine and executed as Perl code. With years of experience under his belt in Cyber Security, he is covering Cyber Security News, technology and other news. A single company might operate tens or hundreds of vulnerable script instances across their web infrastructure, with no automatic update mechanism to address security patches. Sawtooth Software released version 9.16.14 on July 9th, 2025, addressing this critical security flaw. Organizations running Lighthouse Studio should immediately update to the patched version to prevent potential compromise of their hosting infrastructure. Tushar is a Cyber security content editor with a passion for creating captivating and informative content.
This Cyber News was published on cybersecuritynews.com. Publication date: Mon, 21 Jul 2025 11:45:10 +0000