CVE-2025-13774: Progress Flowmon ADS SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13774 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in Progress Flowmon ADS, a network traffic analysis and anomaly detection system. This vulnerability allows authenticated users to execute unintended SQL queries and commands against the underlying database, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can leverage this SQL injection flaw to execute arbitrary SQL commands, potentially exfiltrating sensitive network monitoring data, modifying configurations, or escalating privileges within the Flowmon ADS environment.

Affected Products

• Progress Flowmon ADS versions prior to 12.5.4
• Progress Flowmon ADS versions prior to 13.0.1

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-13 - CVE-2025-13774 published to NVD
• 2026-01-13 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13774

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The flaw exists within the Progress Flowmon ADS application where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries.

The vulnerability requires authentication to exploit, meaning an attacker must first obtain valid credentials to the Flowmon ADS system. Once authenticated, the attacker can craft malicious input that bypasses input validation controls and injects arbitrary SQL statements into backend database queries. This can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification of database contents, execution of administrative operations on the database, or in some cases, command execution on the underlying operating system.

Given the nature of Flowmon ADS as a network traffic analysis platform, successful exploitation could expose sensitive network telemetry data, traffic patterns, and security alerts that could be leveraged for further attacks against the monitored infrastructure.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the Progress Flowmon ADS application. User-controlled input is directly concatenated or interpolated into SQL queries without proper parameterization or escaping, allowing special SQL characters and commands to be interpreted by the database engine rather than treated as literal data values.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires low-privilege authenticated access to the Flowmon ADS interface. An attacker with valid credentials can submit specially crafted input through the application's web interface or API endpoints. The malicious input contains SQL metacharacters and commands that, when processed by the vulnerable code path, are executed against the database with the privileges of the application's database connection.

The attack complexity is low, as standard SQL injection techniques can be employed once a vulnerable input vector is identified. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own actions, and the impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13774

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in Flowmon ADS logs containing SQL syntax elements such as UNION, SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or comment sequences (--, /**/)
• Error messages in application logs indicating SQL syntax errors or database exceptions
• Unexpected database modifications or new administrative accounts
• Anomalous data exfiltration patterns from the Flowmon ADS server

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in requests to Flowmon ADS
• Enable detailed database query logging and monitor for suspicious query structures
• Implement network-based intrusion detection signatures for SQL injection attack patterns
• Configure SentinelOne to monitor for unusual process behavior or database access patterns on Flowmon ADS servers

Monitoring Recommendations

• Review Flowmon ADS access logs regularly for suspicious authentication patterns or repeated failed attempts followed by success
• Monitor database server performance metrics for unusual query execution times that may indicate data exfiltration
• Set up alerts for any database schema modifications or bulk data access operations
• Implement file integrity monitoring on Flowmon ADS configuration and database files

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13774

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Progress Flowmon ADS to version 12.5.4 or later (for 12.x branch) or version 13.0.1 or later (for 13.x branch)
• Audit all user accounts with access to Flowmon ADS and remove unnecessary or unused accounts
• Review database access logs for any signs of exploitation prior to patching
• Implement network segmentation to limit access to the Flowmon ADS management interface

Patch Information

Progress has released security patches addressing this vulnerability. Organizations running affected versions should upgrade to Flowmon ADS version 12.5.4 or 13.0.1 depending on their deployment branch. For detailed patch information and download instructions, refer to the Progress Flowmon ADS CVE-2025-13774 Advisory.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to the Flowmon ADS management interface to trusted IP addresses only using firewall rules or access control lists
• Implement a reverse proxy with WAF capabilities in front of the Flowmon ADS interface to filter malicious requests
• Enforce strong authentication policies including multi-factor authentication where supported
• Apply the principle of least privilege to all Flowmon ADS user accounts, limiting access to only necessary functions

# Example: Restrict access to Flowmon ADS management interface using iptables
# Allow only trusted management subnet
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.10.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP