CVE-2025-24490: Mattermost Server SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24490 Overview

CVE-2025-24490 is a SQL Injection vulnerability affecting Mattermost Server, an open-source team collaboration platform. The vulnerability exists in the boards reordering functionality where the application fails to use prepared statements in SQL queries. This flaw allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious SQL code when reordering specially crafted board categories, potentially leading to unauthorized data extraction from the database.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to retrieve sensitive data from the Mattermost database, potentially exposing confidential team communications, user credentials, and other sensitive information stored within the platform.

Affected Products

• Mattermost Server versions 10.4.x <= 10.4.1
• Mattermost Server versions 10.3.x <= 10.3.2
• Mattermost Server versions 10.2.x <= 10.2.2
• Mattermost Server versions 9.11.x <= 9.11.7

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-24 - CVE-2025-24490 published to NVD
• 2025-10-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24490

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists due to improper input sanitization in the Mattermost Server's boards reordering functionality. When users reorder board categories, the application constructs SQL queries dynamically without using parameterized queries or prepared statements. This architectural flaw allows malicious input to be interpreted as SQL commands rather than data.

The vulnerability requires low-privileged authenticated access to exploit, meaning any user with board access permissions could potentially leverage this flaw. The attack is network-accessible and requires no user interaction beyond the attacker crafting and submitting the malicious request. While the vulnerability does not allow for data modification or service disruption, it provides complete read access to database contents, which represents a significant confidentiality breach.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24490 is the failure to implement prepared statements (parameterized queries) in the SQL operations handling board category reordering. Instead of separating SQL code from user-supplied data, the application concatenates user input directly into SQL query strings. This violates secure coding best practices and creates a classic SQL injection attack surface.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring an authenticated attacker to send specially crafted board category data through the boards reordering API endpoint. The attacker manipulates the category ordering parameters to include SQL injection payloads. When the server processes these requests, the malicious SQL code executes within the database context, allowing the attacker to extract data through techniques such as UNION-based injection, blind SQL injection, or error-based extraction methods.

The vulnerability mechanism involves the boards reordering feature accepting user-controlled input for category ordering. This input is passed to database queries without proper sanitization. An attacker can craft malicious category names or ordering parameters containing SQL syntax that, when incorporated into the query, allows arbitrary data retrieval from any table accessible by the database user. For detailed technical information, refer to the Mattermost Security Updates page.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24490

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to board category reordering endpoints containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, semicolons, UNION keywords, or comment sequences
• Database query logs showing unexpected SELECT statements or queries accessing tables outside normal board operations
• Error messages in application logs indicating SQL syntax errors during board reordering operations
• Anomalous database access patterns from the Mattermost application user account

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in requests to Mattermost board endpoints
• Monitor application logs for SQL-related error messages that may indicate injection attempts
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect unusual query patterns or data access from the Mattermost service account
• Review authentication logs for accounts making repeated requests to board reordering functionality

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the Mattermost boards API endpoints
• Configure alerts for database queries containing suspicious patterns such as UNION SELECT, --, or OR 1=1
• Monitor for bulk data extraction patterns from database tables
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect large response payloads from board reordering endpoints

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24490

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Mattermost Server to patched versions immediately: 10.4.2 or later, 10.3.3 or later, 10.2.3 or later, or 9.11.8 or later
• Review database access logs for signs of exploitation prior to patching
• Consider temporarily restricting access to boards functionality until patching is complete
• Audit database for any unauthorized data access or exfiltration

Patch Information

Mattermost has released security patches addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should apply updates to move to versions beyond the affected ranges. Detailed patch information and download links are available through the Mattermost Security Updates page. It is strongly recommended to follow Mattermost's official upgrade documentation to ensure a smooth transition to the patched versions.

Workarounds

• If immediate patching is not possible, consider implementing additional WAF rules to filter SQL injection patterns targeting board endpoints
• Restrict board creation and management permissions to trusted users only as a temporary measure
• Deploy network-level monitoring to detect and block suspicious traffic patterns to the affected endpoints
• Consider temporarily disabling the boards feature if it is not critical to operations until patching can be completed

# Example: Review Mattermost logs for potential SQL injection attempts
grep -i "board" /var/log/mattermost/mattermost.log | grep -E "(UNION|SELECT|--|;|')"

# Check current Mattermost version
mattermost version