Overview
Today, we are shedding light on a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-53515, which affects Advantech iView, a popular industrial internet of things (IIoT) management software. This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with user-level privileges to perform a SQL injection and remote code execution, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. This high-severity vulnerability is significant because it affects a widely used IIoT platform, and successful exploitation could have serious consequences for the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the victim’s system, data, and network.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53515
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: User
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Advantech iView | All versions prior to patch
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability resides in the NetworkServlet.archiveTrap() function of the Advantech iView software. Certain input parameters within this function are not properly sanitized, which opens up the possibility for SQL injection. An attacker with user-level credentials can craft and send malicious SQL queries in these parameters to manipulate the underlying database, leading to unauthorized disclosure, modification, or destruction of data.
Moreover, this vulnerability also allows for remote code execution in the context of the ‘nt authority\local service’ account. This means that an attacker can not only manipulate the database but also execute arbitrary code on the affected system with system-level privileges, potentially compromising the entire system.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how an attacker might craft a malicious HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability:
POST /NetworkServlet/archiveTrap HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"trap": "'; DROP TABLE users;--",
"code": "'; EXECUTE arbitrary_code;--"
}In this example, the ‘trap’ parameter is manipulated with a SQL injection attack to drop the users table from the database. The ‘code’ parameter is manipulated to execute arbitrary code on the server. This is purely a conceptual example, and the actual exploit could be considerably more complex and obfuscated.
Mitigation and Prevention
The best mitigation strategy is to apply the vendor-supplied patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, users can deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and block attempted attacks. Regularly updating and monitoring these systems can provide a crucial line of defense against exploitation. Furthermore, following the principle of least privilege and ensuring that user-level accounts have only the necessary permissions can reduce the potential impact of this vulnerability.