Hackers who recently exploited a zero-day vulnerability in BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access (PRA) and Remote Support (RS) products likely also exploited another unknown SQL injection vulnerability in PostgreSQL.
The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2025-1094 (CVSS score: 8.1) and affects the PostgreSQL interactive tool psql.
"An attacker who can cause SQL injection, via CVE-2025-1094, can achieve arbitrary code execution (ACE) by leveraging the interactive tool's ability to execute meta-commands," said security researcher Stephen Fewer.
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Cybersecurity firm Rapid7 discovered the vulnerability while researching CVE-2024-12356, a recently patched bug in BeyondTrust software that allowed remote code execution without authentication.
Specifically, it found that “a successful exploitation of CVE-2024-12356 had to include an exploitation of CVE-2025-1094 in order to achieve remote code execution.”
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PostgreSQL maintainers are patching the vulnerability in the following versions:
- PostgreSQL 17 (Fixed in 17.3)
- PostgreSQL 16 (Fixed in 16.7)
- PostgreSQL 15 (Fixed in 15.11)
- PostgreSQL 14 (Fixed in 14.16)
- PostgreSQL 13 (Fixed in 13.19)
The vulnerability is related to the way PostgreSQL handles invalid UTF-8 characters, allowing an attacker to exploit an SQL injection using a shortcut command “!”, which allows shell command execution.
“An attacker could exploit CVE-2025-1094 to execute this meta-command, thereby controlling the operating system shell command being executed,” Fewer said. “Alternatively, an attacker who can create SQL injection via CVE-2025-1094 could execute arbitrary SQL statements controlled by the attacker.”
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In today's ever-evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity is a critical aspect that all organizations must consider. The recent exploitation of the zero-day vulnerability in BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access and Remote Support and the vulnerability in PostgreSQL highlight the need for constant vigilance and proactive measures to mitigate potential risks.
Regularly assessing and addressing any vulnerabilities, implementing strong access controls, and applying software updates are some key steps organizations can take to improve their security posture. Additionally, implementing a layered defense strategy and having an incident response plan can also help minimize the impact of successful attacks.
Source: thehackernews.com
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