CVE-2025-14505
Elliptic Uses a Cryptographic Primitive with a Risky Implementation
Executive Summary
CVE-2025-14505 is a high severity vulnerability affecting pii-secrets. It is classified as an undisclosed flaw. Ensure your systems and dependencies are patched immediately to mitigate exposure risks.
Precogs AI Insight
"The defect is inherently caused by within The ECDSA implementation of the Elliptic package, allowing flawed state management logic. In a real-world scenario, an attacker could exploit this by escalate their own privileges to administrative levels without proper credentials. Precogs automatically detects reversible cryptographic functions and hardcoded secrets to neutralize the threat at the source level."
What is this vulnerability?
CVE-2025-14505 is categorized as a critical Sensitive Data Exposure flaw. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.
The ECDSA implementation of the Elliptic package generates incorrect signatures if an interim value of 'k' (as computed based on step 3.2 of RFC 6979 http.
This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.
Risk Assessment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CVSS Base Score | 8.1 (HIGH) |
| Vector String | N/A |
| Published | January 8, 2026 |
| Last Modified | February 17, 2026 |
| Related CWEs | N/A |
Impact on Systems
✅ Authentication Bypass: Leaked credentials allow attackers to impersonate legitimate users or systems.
✅ Data Breach: Exposed PII triggers regulatory violations (GDPR/CCPA) and massive reputational damage.
✅ Lateral Movement: Exposed API tokens can be used to pivot deeper into internal infrastructure.
How to fix this issue?
Implement the following strategic mitigations immediately to eliminate the attack surface.
1. Secret Management Migrate all hardcoded secrets to a secure vault (e.g., AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault).
2. Data Masking Implement automated redaction for logs to prevent PII/credentials from leaking into observability platforms.
3. Automated Scanning Deploy Precogs Secrets Scanner in pre-commit hooks and CI pipelines to prevent secret commits.
Vulnerability Signature
// Generic Secrets Exposure Vector
// DANGEROUS: Hardcoded secrets in source control or logs
const apiKey = "sk_live_1234567890abcdef";
console.log(`Connecting to API with key $\{apiKey\}`);
// SECURED: Secrets fetched from environment at runtime
const apiKey = process.env.API_SECRET_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error("API configuration missing");
// Never log secrets
console.log('Connecting to API... [REDACTED]');
References and Sources
Vulnerability Code Signature
Attack Data Flow
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Source code repository or API response |
| Vector | Secrets embedded directly in the codebase or PII leaked in response |
| Sink | Version control system or HTTP response |
| Impact | Data breach, unauthorized access, compliance violation |
Vulnerable Code Pattern
// ❌ VULNERABLE: Hardcoded credential & PII Leak
public class Config {
// Taint sink: secret embedded in code
public static final String API_KEY = "sk_live_1234567890abcdef";
}
// ... API Response leaks full user details including SSN ...
Secure Code Pattern
// ✅ SECURE: Environment variables & Data Masking
public class Config {
// Sanitized configuration
public static final String API_KEY = System.getenv("STRIPE_API_KEY");
}
// ... API Response masks SSN and restricts PII exposure ...
How Precogs Detects This
Precogs PII & Secrets Scanner continuously monitors codebases and API responses for hardcoded secrets and unintended PII exposure.\n