OpenRefine Remote Code execution in project import with mysql jdbc url attackGHSA-p3r5-x3hr-gpg5
CRITICALFix: OpenRefine/OpenRefine@693fde6GHSA-p3r5-x3hr-gpg5 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in org.openrefine:database. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.openrefine:database — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-p3r5-x3hr-gpg5.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
org.openrefine:databaseReal-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
Summary
An remote Code exec vulnerability allows any unauthenticated user to exec code on the server.
Details
Hi,Team,
i find openrefine support to import data from database,When use mysql jdbc to connect to database,It is vulnerable to jdbc url attacks,for example,unauthenticated attacker can get rce on the server through the mysql userializable If the mysql-connector-java version used on the server side is less than 8.20.
In order for the server to enable deserialization we need to set the autoDeserialize and queryInterceptors parameters in the connection string,As same with https://github.com/OpenRefine/OpenRefine/security/advisories/GHSA-qqh2-wvmv-h72m, since the concatenation string is a direct concatenation, it is possible to inject the required parameters after the other parameters.
And there is a commons-beanutils dependency library on the server side, which contains an RCE-capable deserialization exploit chain
PoC
env:
centos 7
openrefine 3.7.4
jdk11
mysql-connector-java version 8.14.0
you can use the tool https://github.com/4ra1n/mysql-fake-server to running a malicious mysql server.
for example use the CB 1.9 Gadget to exec command touch /tmp/hacked.
set the user to base64ZGVzZXJfQ0JfdG91Y2ggL3RtcC9oYWNrZWQ=(touch /tmp/hacked base64 encode),dataBaseName to test?autoDeserialize=true&queryInterceptors=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.interceptors.ServerStatusDiffInterceptor#.
command touch /tmp/hacked is executed.
Impact
An remote Code exec vulnerability allows any unauthenticated user to exec code on the server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.openrefine:database | all versions | 3.7.5org.openrefine:database:3.7.5 |
Affected Products
openrefineopenrefineResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.openrefine:database, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.openrefine:database to 3.7.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-p3r5-x3hr-gpg5 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Until you can upgrade, make sure every query built from user input uses parameterised statements or a prepared-statement API rather than string concatenation, and reduce the database account's privileges so an injected query cannot read or alter data beyond what the feature needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-p3r5-x3hr-gpg5 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.