CVE-2025-8701

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-8701 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in the Wanzhou WOES Intelligent Optimization Energy Saving System version 1.0. The flaw resides in the /OL_OprationLog/GetPageList endpoint, where the optUser parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in a database query. This allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or system compromise. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, and no official patch is currently available. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.3 (Medium), but the impact could be severe in operational technology (OT) environments.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component remains the same.
• Confidentiality (C): Low (L) – Limited data exposure possible.
• Integrity (I): Low (L) – Limited data modification possible.
• Availability (A): Low (L) – Limited service disruption possible.

Threat Level: Medium. While the CVSS score is 6.3, the lack of a patch and the public availability of exploit details elevate the risk, especially in critical infrastructure environments.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection in the optUser parameter of the GetPageList function. The application likely constructs a SQL query by directly concatenating user input without proper sanitization or parameterized queries. For example, a vulnerable code snippet might look like:

SELECT * FROM OperationLog WHERE optUser = '" + request.getParameter("optUser") + "'

An attacker can inject SQL commands by providing a malicious value for optUser, such as:

' OR '1'='1

This would modify the query to:

SELECT * FROM OperationLog WHERE optUser = '' OR '1'='1'

This returns all rows from the OperationLog table, bypassing any intended filtering. More sophisticated injections could extract data from other tables, modify records, or execute database commands.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Java/JSP example):

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

Patched Code (using parameterized queries):

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

The patched version uses a PreparedStatement with a parameterized query, which ensures that user input is treated as data, not executable code. This completely prevents SQL injection.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Deploy a vulnerable instance of Wanzhou WOES Intelligent Optimization Energy Saving System 1.0 in a controlled environment (e.g., using Docker or a virtual machine).
2. Ensure the /OL_OprationLog/GetPageList endpoint is accessible.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter: optUser.
2. Use a simple injection to test for vulnerability:

   GET /OL_OprationLog/GetPageList?optUser=' OR '1'='1
   

3. If successful, the response will include all records from the OperationLog table.
4. For data extraction, use UNION-based SQL injection:

   GET /OL_OprationLog/GetPageList?optUser=' UNION SELECT null,username,password,null FROM users--
   

5. Automate with tools like sqlmap:

   sqlmap -u "http://target/OL_OprationLog/GetPageList?optUser=test" --batch --dbs
   

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection & Response:

1. Monitor web server logs for suspicious optUser parameters containing SQL keywords (e.g., OR, AND, UNION, SELECT).
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests with SQL injection patterns.
3. Use database activity monitoring to detect anomalous queries.
4. If exploitation is detected, isolate the affected system and review logs for data exfiltration.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /OL_OprationLog/GetPageList with unusual optUser values (e.g., containing ', OR, UNION).
  • Outbound database connections from the web server to unexpected IPs.
• File IOCs:
  • Modified or new files in the web application directory (e.g., webshells).
• Log IOCs:
  • Database error logs showing SQL syntax errors.
  • Web server logs with repeated failed SQL injection attempts.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_8701_SQLi_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2025-8701"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-8701"
    strings:
        $s1 = "optUser="
        $s2 = "' OR '"
        $s3 = "' UNION SELECT"
        $s4 = "1=1"
    condition:
        any of ($s1) and any of ($s2, $s3, $s4)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-8701 SQL Injection Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts against Wanzhou WOES system
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - "optUser=' OR '"
            - "optUser=' UNION SELECT"
            - "optUser=' AND '1'='1"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of special characters in usernames (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-8701 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"/OL_OprationLog/GetPageList"; http_uri; content:"optUser="; http_uri; pcre:"/(\x27.*OR|\x27.*UNION|\x27.*AND)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate the affected system from the network if possible.
2. Apply input validation and parameterized queries as shown in the patched code section.
3. Implement a WAF with rules to block SQL injection patterns.
4. Monitor logs for signs of exploitation.

Long-term Fix:

• The vendor must release a security patch that replaces all dynamic SQL queries with parameterized statements.
• Until a patch is available, consider replacing the system with a secure alternative.

Valters IT Signature

This report was generated by Valters IT Cyber Threat Intelligence. For further assistance, contact support@valtersit.com.