CVE-2025-29757 is a critical security vulnerability identified in the Growatt cloud service platform (https://oss.growatt.com), specifically within the 'plant transfer' function. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863, which pertains to incorrect authorization. The flaw allows a malicious attacker who already possesses a valid user account to transfer ownership of any plant (likely referring to solar power plants or energy installations managed via Growatt's platform) into their own account without proper authorization checks. This means that the authorization logic fails to verify whether the requesting user has the right to perform the transfer on the targeted plant, enabling privilege escalation and unauthorized control over assets. The vulnerability has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.4 (critical), reflecting its high impact and ease of exploitation. The vector indicates network attack (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and privileges required are low (PR:L), meaning an attacker only needs a valid account with minimal privileges. The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high, with the scope being partially changed (S:P), indicating that the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially compromised component. No patches are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the published date (July 19, 2025). The vulnerability was reserved in March 2025 and publicly disclosed in July 2025. Given Growatt's role as a provider of solar energy management solutions, unauthorized transfer of plants could lead to significant operational disruptions, data breaches, and potential sabotage or misuse of energy assets.

For European organizations, especially those involved in renewable energy management, utilities, or energy infrastructure, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Growatt's cloud platform is used to monitor and control solar power plants, and unauthorized transfer of plant ownership could allow attackers to manipulate energy production data, disrupt operations, or gain control over critical infrastructure. This could lead to financial losses, regulatory non-compliance, and damage to reputation. Additionally, energy infrastructure is considered critical national infrastructure in many European countries, so exploitation could have cascading effects on grid stability and energy supply. The high severity and ease of exploitation mean that attackers with minimal privileges could escalate their access rapidly. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests that proactive mitigation is crucial to prevent future attacks. The impact extends beyond confidentiality to integrity and availability, as attackers could alter operational parameters or deny legitimate users access to their plants.

1. Immediate implementation of strict authorization checks on the 'plant transfer' function to ensure that only legitimate owners or authorized personnel can transfer plant ownership. 2. Conduct a thorough audit of all recent plant transfer activities to detect any unauthorized transfers and revert them if necessary. 3. Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user accounts to reduce the risk of account compromise. 4. Monitor user activities and implement anomaly detection to flag unusual transfer requests or account behaviors. 5. Segregate duties and limit privileges so that users have the minimum necessary permissions to perform their roles, reducing the impact of compromised accounts. 6. Engage with Growatt to obtain or request an official patch or update addressing this vulnerability and apply it promptly once available. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks associated with account sharing and phishing attacks that could lead to account compromise. 8. Implement network-level protections such as IP whitelisting or VPN access restrictions for administrative functions to reduce exposure. 9. Regularly review and update access control policies and conduct penetration testing focused on authorization mechanisms.