CVE-2025-51535 in OpenAtlas
Summary
by MITRE • 08/04/2025
Austrian Archaeological Institute (AI) OpenAtlas v8.11.0 as discovered to contain a SQL injection vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/06/2025
The Austrian Archaeological Institute OpenAtlas v8.11.0 presents a critical security vulnerability through a SQL injection flaw that compromises the integrity and confidentiality of database operations. This vulnerability arises from insufficient input validation and improper parameter handling within the application's database interaction mechanisms, creating an exploitable entry point for malicious actors to manipulate backend database queries. The flaw specifically manifests when user-supplied data is directly incorporated into SQL statements without adequate sanitization or parameterization, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL commands that can alter or extract sensitive information from the underlying database system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly escape or parameterize user inputs before executing database queries. When legitimate users interact with the OpenAtlas platform, particularly through forms, API endpoints, or parameterized URLs, their input data flows directly into SQL execution contexts. This design flaw aligns with CWE-89, which categorizes SQL injection as a common weakness in software applications where untrusted data is concatenated into SQL commands without proper validation. The vulnerability exists across multiple functional areas of the archaeological data management system, including user authentication, data retrieval, and administrative operations, making it particularly dangerous as it could potentially provide attackers with full database access privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete system compromise and potential data corruption. An attacker exploiting this SQL injection flaw could extract sensitive archaeological records, user credentials, system configurations, and other confidential information stored within the OpenAtlas database. The vulnerability may also enable privilege escalation attacks, allowing unauthorized users to gain administrative access to the system. Given that OpenAtlas serves archaeological institutions and researchers, the compromised data could include sensitive research findings, unpublished discoveries, and protected cultural heritage information that may have significant academic, legal, or security implications. The attack surface is further expanded by the fact that this vulnerability affects version 8.11.0, suggesting that organizations using this specific release are at risk without proper mitigation measures.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the affected OpenAtlas version to address the underlying SQL injection implementation flaw. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and parameterized query execution throughout the application's codebase, following secure coding practices that prevent user input from directly influencing SQL command construction. The implementation of web application firewalls and database activity monitoring systems can provide additional layers of protection by detecting and blocking suspicious SQL injection attempts. Security teams should conduct thorough code reviews and penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities across other components of the archaeological data management platform. Additionally, implementing proper access controls and database user privilege management can limit the potential damage from successful exploitation attempts, while regular security updates and vulnerability assessments should become standard practice for maintaining the system's security posture. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of secure coding practices and proper input validation in database-driven applications, particularly those handling sensitive research and cultural heritage data that require robust security measures to protect against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.