VulnerabilityPublished 27 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-50983: readarr · SQL Injection

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.3 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.3High

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Aug 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation should focus on input validation and sanitization of the 'sortKey' parameter to prevent injection of malicious SQL code. Developers should implement parameterized queries or prepared statements within the Readarr codebase to eliminate direct concatenation of user input into SQL commands. Until an official patch is released, organizations should restrict access to the vulnerable API endpoint by implementing network-level controls such as IP whitelisting, VPN-only access, or firewall rules to limit exposure. Monitoring and logging API requests for unusual patterns or excessive query complexity can help detect attempted exploitation. Additionally, organizations should conduct an inventory to identify all Readarr instances and ensure they are not publicly accessible. Regular backups of the SQLite database are recommended to enable recovery in case of data corruption or deletion. Finally, organizations should stay alert for official patches or updates from Readarr and apply them promptly once available.

Description

SQL Injection vulnerability exists in the sortKey parameter of the GET /api/v1/wanted/cutoff API endpoint in readarr 0.4.15.2787. The endpoint fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, allowing attackers to inject and execute arbitrary SQL commands against the backend SQLite database. Sqlmap confirmed exploitation via stacked queries, demonstrating that the parameter can be abused to run arbitrary SQL statements. A heavy query was executed using SQLite's RANDOMBLOB() and HEX() functions to simulate a time-based payload, indicating deep control over database interactions.

Impact

For European organizations using Readarr, particularly those managing large digital media libraries or metadata repositories, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data stored in the SQLite database, including user information or media metadata. Attackers could also manipulate or delete data, disrupting operations and potentially causing loss of data integrity. Given that Readarr is often deployed in home or small business environments, the impact might be more pronounced in organizations relying on it for cataloging or media management. Additionally, if Readarr instances are exposed to the internet or poorly segmented within internal networks, attackers could leverage this vulnerability as an entry point for lateral movement or further compromise. The absence of authentication requirements for the vulnerable endpoint (not explicitly stated but implied by the nature of the API) would exacerbate the risk, allowing unauthenticated attackers to exploit the flaw remotely. This could lead to reputational damage, compliance issues under GDPR if personal data is compromised, and operational disruptions.

CWE-89Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #2OWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.
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.
Architecture and Design · Parameterization
If available, use structured mechanisms that automatically enforce the separation between data and code. These mechanisms may be able to provide the relevant quoting, encoding, and validation automatically, instead of relying on the developer to provide this capability at every point where output is generated.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Environment Hardening
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Query Parameterization (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.3.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Object Relational Mapping Injection (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering (opens in a new tab)
Expanding Control over the Operating System from the Database (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/4rdr/proofs/blob/main/info/readarr-0.4.15.2787-sql-injection-via-sortkey-parameter.md (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Aug 2025, 15:47 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-89

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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