Summary
WhoDB allows parameter injection in DB connection URIs leading to local file inclusion
The application is vulnerable to parameter injection in database connection strings, which allows an attacker to read local files on the machine the application is running on.
Details
The application uses string concatenation to build database connection URIs which are then passed to corresponding libraries responsible for setting up the database connections.
This string concatenation is done unsafely and without escaping or encoding the user input. This allows an user, in many cases, to inject arbitrary parameters into the URI string. These parameters can be potentially dangerous depending on the libraries used.
One of these dangerous parameters is allowAllFiles in the library github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql. Should this be set to true, the library enables running the LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE query on any file on the host machine (in this case, the machine that WhoDB is running on). Source: https://github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql/blob/7403860363ca112af503b4612568c3096fecb466/infile.go#L128
By injecting &allowAllFiles=true into the connection URI and connecting to any MySQL server (such as an attacker-controlled one), the attacker is able to read local files.
PoC
As this vulnerability does not require sending requests manually and can all be done using the WhoDB UI, screenshots are provided instead of HTTP requests.
For this proof-of-concept, a clean instance of WhoDB and MySQL were set up using podman (docker is a suitable alternative):
podman network create whodb-poc
podman run -d -p 8080:8080 --network whodb-poc docker.io/clidey/whodb
podman run -d --name mysql -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=password --network whodb-poc docker.io/mysql:9
The attacker connects to the database via WhoDB. Note that in the Loc field, the string &allowAllFiles=true is inserted:
After connecting, the attacker navigates to the scratchpad in /scratchpad.
The attacker first creates a demo table:
CREATE TABLE poc (
line TEXT
);
The attacker then enables loading files from the server side. For the sake of clarity, do note that while this is required, the file is not being read from the remote server where MySQL is running, but the local machine that WhoDB is running on.
SET GLOBAL local_infile=1;
The attacker then uses the LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE statement to read the contents of /etc/passwd (in this case from inside the container where WhoDB is running) into the previously created table:
LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/etc/passwd'
INTO TABLE poc
FIELDS TERMINATED BY '\0'
LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';
The attacker then navigates to the poc table in the Tables view and observes that the file has been read successfully:
Impact
While this proof-of-concept demonstrates local file inclusion, the root cause of the issue is the unsafe construction of database connection URIs from user input. Not all database connector libraries used in WhoDB were inspected; there may be libraries which allow for even more impactful parameters.
The attack requires no user authentication to WhoDB (only authentication to any database server, such as an attacker-controlled one) and no special configuration - the default configuration of the application is vulnerable.
CVE-2025-24787 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-24787? CVE-2025-24787 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/clidey/whodb/core (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005. It is fixed in 0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005.
- How severe is CVE-2025-24787? CVE-2025-24787 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/clidey/whodb/core are affected by CVE-2025-24787? github.com/clidey/whodb/core (go) versions < 0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-24787? Yes. CVE-2025-24787 is fixed in 0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-24787 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-24787 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-24787 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-24787? Upgrade
github.com/clidey/whodb/coreto 0.0.0-20250127202645-8d67b767e005 or later.