A dangerous vulnerability has been discovered in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL. The component affected is InnoDB, which is responsible for handling database transactions. This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized ability to cause hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of MySQL Server, thus handing an attacker control over the targeted systems. The versions affected include 8..40 and prior, 8.4.3 and prior, and 9.1. and prior. This post shall delve into the details of this vulnerability, the exploit, and references for further understanding.

Vulnerability Details

This vulnerability can be easily exploited by high-privileged attackers with network access to the target system via multiple protocols. Once successful, the attacker can compromise the MySQL Server, tampering with its availability. As a result, the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) Triad of the system is put at risk.

Exploit Details

CVE-2025-21490 allows attackers to compromise the MySQL Server through a simple attack vector. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) has assigned this vulnerability a base score of 4.9, which indicates its severity. The CVSS vector is as follows:

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

The following code snippet demonstrates a sample exploit of this vulnerability

#include<stdio.h>
#include<mysql.h>

int main() {
    MYSQL *conn;
    MYSQL_RES *res;
    MYSQL_ROW row;

    // Initialize connection
    conn = mysql_init(NULL);

    // Connect to MySQL server
    if (mysql_real_connect(conn, "host", "user", "pass", "database", , NULL, ) == NULL) {
        printf("Failed to connect to MySQL: %s\n", mysql_error(conn));
        mysql_close(conn);
        return -1;
    }

    // Exploiting vulnerability
    if (mysql_query(conn, "INJECT VULNERABILITY HERE") != ) {
        printf("Error in exploiting vulnerability: %s\n", mysql_error(conn));
        mysql_close(conn);
        return -1;
    }

    // Cleanup and exit
    mysql_free_result(res);
    mysql_close(conn);
    return ;
}

Note: Replace the "INJECT VULNERABILITY HERE" placeholder with the actual exploit code.

1. Oracle Security Advisory
2. NVD - CVE-2025-21490 Detail
3. MySQL InnoDB Official Documentation

Conclusion

CVE-2025-21490 poses a significant threat to organizations and systems using the affected MySQL Server versions. To ensure maximum security, system administrators must update their MySQL servers to the latest version, apply relevant patches released by Oracle, and review their security configurations. In addition, programming team members can utilize the information in this post to test and verify if their systems are affected by this vulnerability. Finally, for more details and updates, stay tuned to Oracle Security Advisories and MySQL official website.

Timeline

Published on: 01/21/2025 21:15:13 UTC
Last modified on: 03/01/2025 13:15:12 UTC