CVE-2025-21546VulnerabilityPublished 21 Jan 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-21546: Oracle MySQL Server · Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple

Affects Oracle MySQL ServerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.8 Low.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.8Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 47% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Jan 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mavencom.oracle.mysql/mysql-server`pkg:maven/com.oracle.mysql/mysql-server`Other threats	Affected <=8.0.40 <=8.4.3 <=9.1.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Monitor Oracle's official channels for patches addressing CVE-2025-21546 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Restrict network access to MySQL servers using firewalls and network segmentation to limit exposure only to trusted hosts and services. 3. Enforce the principle of least privilege rigorously by auditing and minimizing high-privileged MySQL accounts and credentials. 4. Implement strong authentication mechanisms and consider multi-factor authentication for administrative access to MySQL servers. 5. Regularly review and audit MySQL user privileges and access logs to detect unauthorized or suspicious activities early. 6. Employ network intrusion detection and prevention systems to monitor for anomalous access patterns targeting MySQL services. 7. Use encrypted connections (e.g., TLS) for MySQL network traffic to prevent interception or tampering. 8. Consider deploying database activity monitoring tools that can alert on unauthorized data modification or access attempts. 9. Educate internal teams about the risks of privilege escalation and the importance of safeguarding administrative credentials. 10. For cloud or managed database services, verify that providers have applied relevant patches and security configurations.

Description

Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Security: Privileges). Supported versions that are affected are 8.0.40 and prior, 8.4.3 and prior and 9.1.0 and prior. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise MySQL Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of MySQL Server accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of MySQL Server accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 3.8 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-21546 depends largely on the presence of high-privileged attackers with network access to MySQL servers. Organizations using affected MySQL versions in critical applications or handling sensitive data could face unauthorized data manipulation or disclosure, undermining data integrity and confidentiality. This could lead to compliance violations under GDPR if personal data is involved, reputational damage, and potential financial losses. The vulnerability does not affect availability, so service continuity is less likely to be impacted. However, attackers exploiting this flaw could alter or exfiltrate data, potentially affecting business operations, decision-making, and trustworthiness of data. Industries such as finance, healthcare, government, and telecommunications that rely heavily on MySQL databases for critical data storage are at higher risk. The requirement for high privileges limits exploitation to insiders or attackers who have already breached perimeter defenses, emphasizing the importance of internal security controls. European organizations with remote or cloud-hosted MySQL deployments accessible over the network are particularly vulnerable if proper network segmentation and access controls are not enforced.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 01:15 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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