Overview
The CVE-2025-43960 vulnerability is a severe flaw found in Adminer 4.8.1, a popular database management tool. The vulnerability emerges when the software utilizes Monolog for logging, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) scenario and PHP Object Injection issues. This vulnerability primarily affects system administrators and web developers who employ Adminer 4.8.1 to manage their databases. The implications of this vulnerability are substantial as it allows unauthenticated, remote attackers to trigger excessive memory usage, which can cause a system to crash or become unresponsive.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43960
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 8.6)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Denial of Service and PHP Object Injection leading to potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Adminer | 4.8.1
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the way Adminer 4.8.1, when using Monolog for logging, handles serialized payloads. Attackers can craft a malicious serialized object (e.g., using s:1000000000), causing excessive memory consumption. This high memory usage can render Adminer’s user interface unresponsive, leading to a Denial of Service. If multiple simultaneous requests are made, the server can crash entirely, necessitating manual intervention for recovery. The same vulnerability also opens up a path for PHP Object Injection.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a conceptual example of a potential exploit. It entails a POST request to a vulnerable endpoint, with the body of the request containing a malicious serialized payload.
POST /vulnerable/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "malicious_payload": "s:1000000000" }Recommended Mitigation Measures
In response to this vulnerability, it is recommended that users immediately apply the patch provided by the vendor. In the interim, while the patch is being applied, users can also use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as temporary mitigation measures. It is essential to stay vigilant and apply the necessary security measures to prevent potential system compromise or data leakage.
