CVE-2020-25540

HIGH EXPLOITED NUCLEI

ThinkAdmin v6 - Unauthenticated Path Traversal via GET Request Encode Parameter

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2020-25540 has been observed exploited in the wild (reported by VulnCheck KEV). EIP tracks 5 public exploits from researchers including Hzllaga, Schira4396, RajChowdhury240. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages an arbitrary file read vulnerability in ThinkAdmin v6 by manipulating the 'encode' parameter in a specific URL path. The payloads provided demonstrate reading sensitive files like database.php on Windows and /etc/passwd on Linux.

Description

ThinkAdmin v6 is affected by a directory traversal vulnerability. An unauthorized attacker can read arbitrarily file on a remote server via GET request encode parameter.

Exploits (5)

exploitdb WORKING POC
by Hzllaga · textwebappsphp
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48812

This exploit leverages an arbitrary file read vulnerability in ThinkAdmin v6 by manipulating the 'encode' parameter in a specific URL path. The payloads provided demonstrate reading sensitive files like database.php on Windows and /etc/passwd on Linux.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: ThinkAdmin v6 <= 2020.08.03.01
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to the target URL path
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 7 stars
by Schira4396 · remote
https://github.com/Schira4396/CVE-2020-25540

This PoC exploits CVE-2020-25540 in ThinkAdmin by leveraging a directory traversal vulnerability to read arbitrary files. It encodes the command using base36 and sends it via a crafted URI to retrieve the file content.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: ThinkAdmin (version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target · ThinkAdmin instance with vulnerable endpoint exposed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by RajChowdhury240 · poc
https://github.com/RajChowdhury240/ThinkAdmin-CVE-2020-25540

This exploit leverages CVE-2020-25540, a command injection vulnerability in ThinkAdmin, by encoding the payload in base36 and sending it via a crafted URI to achieve remote command execution (RCE). The script decodes the response to display the command output.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: ThinkAdmin (version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target · Python 3 environment
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by simonlee-hello · infoleak
https://github.com/simonlee-hello/CVE-2020-25540

This PoC exploits CVE-2020-25540, an arbitrary file read vulnerability in ThinkAdmin v5 and v6. It uses base36 encoding to bypass restrictions and retrieve file contents via an API endpoint.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: ThinkAdmin v5, v6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running vulnerable ThinkAdmin version · Network access to the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by lowkey0808 · remote
https://github.com/lowkey0808/cve-2020-25540

This PoC exploits an arbitrary file read vulnerability in ThinkAdmin by leveraging a path traversal flaw via base36-encoded directory traversal sequences. It allows reading files from the server by manipulating the 'encode' parameter in the API endpoint.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: ThinkAdmin (version not specified)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target URL with vulnerable ThinkAdmin installation
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

ThinkAdmin 6 - Local File Inclusion
HIGHby geeknik

References (3)

Core 3

Scores

CVSS v3 7.5
EPSS 0.9377
EPSS Percentile 99.9%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Details

VulnCheck KEV 2024-07-21
CWE
CWE-22
Status published
Products (2)
thinkadmin/thinkadmin 6.0
zoujingli/thinkadmin Packagist
Published Sep 14, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026