CVE-2023-25158 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in org.geotools:gt-jdbc. A fix is available for org.geotools:gt-jdbc — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Unfiltered SQL Injection in Geotools
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-25158 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.geotools:gt-jdbc☕org.geotools:gt-jdbc☕org.geotools:gt-jdbc☕org.geotools:gt-jdbc☕org.geotools:gt-jdbcReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
GeoTools includes support for OGC Filter expression language parsing, encoding and execution against a range of datastore.
SQL Injection Vulnerabilities have been found when executing OGC Filters with JDBCDataStore implementations:
PropertyIsLikefilter- Requires PostGIS DataStore with "encode functions" enabled
- Or any JDBCDataStore (all relational databases) with String field (no mitigation)
strEndsWithfunction- Requires PostGIS DataStore with "encode functions" enabled
strStartsWithfunction- Requires PostGIS DataStore with "encode functions" enabled
FeatureIdfilter- Requires JDBCDataStore (all relational databases) with prepared statements disabled and table with String primary key (Oracle not affected, SQL Server and MySQL have no settings to enabled prepared statements, PostGIS does)
jsonArrayContainsfunction- Requires PostGIS and Oracle DataStore with String or JSON field
DWithinfilter- Happens only in Oracle DataStore, no mitigation
Patches
- GeoTools 28.2
- GeoTools 27.4
- GeoTools 26.7
- GeoTools 25.7
- GeoTools 24.7
Workarounds
Partial mitigation:
- In PostGIS DataStore disable "encode functions"
- In any PostGIS enable "prepared statements" (only database with such settings)
Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<>();
params.put("dbtype", "postgis");
params.put("host", "localhost");
params.put("port", 5432);
params.put("schema", "public");
params.put("database", "database");
params.put("user", "postgres");
params.put("passwd", "postgres");
params.put("preparedStatements", true ); // mitigation
params.put("encode functions", false ); // mitigation
DataStore dataStore = DataStoreFinder.getDataStore(params);
References
- OGC Filter SQL Injection Vulnerabilities (GeoServer)
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-jdbc | ≥ 28.0&&< 28.2 | 28.2org.geotools:gt-jdbc:28.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-jdbc | ≥ 27.0&&< 27.4 | 27.4org.geotools:gt-jdbc:27.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-jdbc | ≥ 26.0&&< 26.7 | 26.7org.geotools:gt-jdbc:26.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-jdbc | ≥ 25.0&&< 25.7 | 25.7org.geotools:gt-jdbc:25.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.geotools:gt-jdbc | all versions | 24.7org.geotools:gt-jdbc:24.7 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geotools:gt-jdbc, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geotools:gt-jdbc to 28.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-25158 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-25158 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-25158. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-25158 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-25158 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.