CVE-2025-22217 is a significant vulnerability discovered in the Avi Load Balancer, a widely used load balancing tool under the VMware umbrella. This blind SQL Injection vulnerability, if exploited by an attacker, can result in unauthorized access to the affected database. VMware has been made aware of this issue and has promptly released patches for the impacted products. In this post, we will delve into the details of this vulnerability, study a sample code snippet, explore the exploit process, and discuss how to protect the affected systems.

The Vulnerability

The Avi Load Balancer was found to contain an unauthenticated blind SQL Injection vulnerability, which means an attacker could exploit the flaw without needing any authentication. This SQL Injection vulnerability allows a malicious user with network access to send specially crafted SQL queries to the impacted software. Upon successful execution of the attack, the attacker would be able to retrieve sensitive information from the affected database, potentially leading to additional malicious activities.

Code Snippet

Below is a simplified representation of the code that demonstrates how the vulnerability could be exploited:

import requests

# Example target URL for the Avi Load Balancer
target_url = "http://example.com:PORT";

# The malicious SQL query
sql_injection = "' AND (SELECT * FROM users) --"

# Crafting the exploit request
exploit_request = requests.post(target_url, data={"username": sql_injection})

# Checking if the exploit was successful
if "An error occurred" in exploit_request.text:
    print("Exploit failed")
else:
    print("Exploit succeeded")

It is essential to note that this code is only for educational purposes and should not be used for any malicious intent.

Original References

- VMware Security Advisory (VMSA): https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2025-0001.html
- CVE Details: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2025-22217
- NVD (National Vulnerability Database): https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22217

A malicious user discovers the vulnerable Avi Load Balancer instance.

2. The attacker crafts a specially designed SQL query containing the payload to retrieve sensitive data from the database.
3. The attacker then sends the crafted request to the target system. If successful, the system would return the requested data.
4. Upon obtaining unauthorized database access, the attacker may continue with other malicious activities.

1. Apply the latest security patches provided by VMware. Refer to the VMware Security Advisory for patch details: https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2025-0001.html

Regularly update all software components to minimize the risk of known vulnerabilities.

3. Restrict access to the Avi Load Balancer's administrative interfaces to trusted IP addresses or subnets.

Conclusion

The discovery of the unauthenticated blind SQL Injection vulnerability (CVE-2025-22217) in the Avi Load Balancer highlights the importance of keeping software up-to-date and employing robust security practices. By applying the appropriate patches, regularly updating the components, and following the recommended guidelines, organizations can significantly reduce the risk associated with this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 01/28/2025 19:15:14 UTC