# PingAM Java Policy Agent path traversal and parameter injection

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/cves/cve-2025-20059/
Last updated: 2026-08-29
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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## What broke

The [Ping](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iam/ping-identity/) AM Java Policy Agent accepted a relative path and injected parameters a protected app did not expect. CNA CVSS-B 9.2. February 2025. Ping shipped an agent update.

## Why it matters

A policy agent is the enforcement point. Bypass it and every application behind it becomes unauthenticated, regardless of how carefully you configured PingAM. This is the agent-side cousin of [OAuth2-Proxy skip_auth_routes](https://startwithidentity.com/cves/cve-2025-54576/).

## What to do

- Upgrade every Java Policy Agent. Agents drift. Inventory them, do not assume the last AM upgrade covered them.
- Confirm the agent still fails closed on a malformed path. A 404 is acceptable. A skip is not.

## After you patch

Patching closes the entry point. It does not remove access an attacker established through it.

- **Revoke sessions and API tokens** on the affected system rather than only resetting passwords.
- **Audit accounts, tokens, and administrative changes** made during the exposure window.
- **Rotate credentials the system stored or could reach**, including directory service accounts and integration keys. See [secrets rotation](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/secrets-rotation/).
- **Treat the system as a pivot**: whatever it could authenticate to is in scope until you have checked it.

## Sources

- [NVD: CVE-2025-20059](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20059)
- Ping Identity security advisory, February 2025