Overview
The CVE-2025-49199 represents a significant vulnerability found in applications that fail to sign their backup ZIPs. This vulnerability can affect a wide range of systems, particularly those that rely on these applications for core business or infrastructure functions. The severity of this vulnerability lies in its potential for system compromise and data leakage, as it allows an attacker to disrupt the application, potentially rendering it unusable and redirecting internal traffic to their own services.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49199
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Application X | Versions 1.0 – 4.2
Application Y | Versions 2.0 – 3.1
How the Exploit Works
The exploit works by taking advantage of the fact that the application does not sign its backup ZIPs. An attacker can download a backup ZIP, modify it and re-upload it. The modifications can include configurations that disrupt the application’s services, making them unable to run and causing the application to become unusable. Additionally, the attacker can configure the application to redirect traffic intended for internal use to the attacker’s own hosted services, thereby potentially gathering sensitive information.
Conceptual Example Code
Given the nature of this vulnerability, an attacker might exploit it using something similar to the following pseudocode:
GET /application_backup.zip HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
[Download the backup ZIP]
[Modify the backup ZIP, including malicious configurations]
POST /upload_modified_backup.zip HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/zip
{ "modified_backup": "[Insert modified backup here]" }Mitigation Guidance
The most effective way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch, which ensures that the backup ZIPs are signed by the application, preventing unauthorized modifications. In the absence of a patch, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as a temporary mitigation measure. These systems can detect and block malicious attempts to download or modify the backup ZIPs.