CVE-2025-30145 Overview
CVE-2025-30145 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting GeoServer, an open source server that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. The vulnerability allows malicious Jiffle scripts to be executed by GeoServer, either as a rendering transformation in WMS dynamic styles or as a WPS process, that can enter an infinite loop to trigger denial of service conditions.
Critical Impact
Attackers can craft malicious Jiffle scripts that cause GeoServer to enter infinite loops, resulting in service unavailability and potential resource exhaustion on affected systems.
Affected Products
- OSGeo GeoServer versions prior to 2.25.7
- OSGeo GeoServer versions 2.26.x prior to 2.26.3
- OSGeo GeoServer versions 2.27.x prior to 2.27.0
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-30145 published to NVD
- 2025-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-30145
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition), commonly known as an infinite loop vulnerability. The flaw exists within GeoServer's handling of Jiffle scripts, a scripting language used for raster image processing in geospatial applications.
The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can submit specially crafted Jiffle scripts through two main attack surfaces: WMS (Web Map Service) dynamic styling or WPS (Web Processing Service) processes. When GeoServer processes these malicious scripts, it enters an infinite loop condition that consumes server resources and prevents legitimate requests from being processed.
The impact is limited to availability disruption, as there is no evidence of data confidentiality or integrity compromise. However, in production environments serving critical geospatial data, sustained denial of service can have significant operational consequences.
Root Cause
The root cause lies in inadequate loop termination validation within the Jiffle script interpreter. The Jiffle scripting engine fails to properly validate loop exit conditions before execution, allowing specially crafted scripts to create loops that never terminate. This issue was addressed through a fix in the jai-ext library, as referenced in the vendor pull request.
Attack Vector
The attack is network-based and requires no prior authentication. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by submitting malicious Jiffle scripts through:
- WMS Dynamic Styling - Crafting malicious SLD (Styled Layer Descriptor) documents containing Jiffle rendering transformations that trigger infinite loops during map rendering
- WPS Process Execution - Submitting WPS requests that invoke Jiffle processing with loop constructs designed to never terminate
The vulnerability manifests when GeoServer's Jiffle interpreter processes script constructs with unreachable exit conditions. For detailed technical information, see the GitHub Security Advisory.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30145
Indicators of Compromise
- Abnormally high CPU utilization on GeoServer application servers without corresponding increases in legitimate traffic
- GeoServer processes becoming unresponsive or timing out for extended periods
- WMS or WPS requests containing unusual or obfuscated Jiffle script content
- Application logs showing repeated processing of the same rendering transformation or WPS request
Detection Strategies
- Monitor GeoServer process CPU and memory consumption for anomalous spikes that may indicate infinite loop execution
- Implement request logging and analysis for WMS GetMap requests with custom SLD styling parameters
- Review WPS execution logs for Jiffle-related process invocations from untrusted sources
- Deploy application-level monitoring to detect request timeouts and thread pool exhaustion
Monitoring Recommendations
- Configure alerting on GeoServer thread pool utilization exceeding normal operational thresholds
- Implement request timeout monitoring to detect long-running WMS or WPS operations
- Enable detailed logging for Jiffle script processing to identify potentially malicious script patterns
- Monitor network traffic for unusual volumes of WMS or WPS requests from single sources
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30145
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade GeoServer to version 2.27.0, 2.26.3, or 2.25.7 depending on your deployment branch
- If immediate patching is not possible, disable WMS dynamic styling functionality as a temporary mitigation
- Disable the Jiffle WPS process to prevent exploitation through the WPS attack vector
- Implement request rate limiting and timeout controls on GeoServer endpoints
Patch Information
The vulnerability has been fixed in GeoServer versions 2.27.0, 2.26.3, and 2.25.7. The fix addresses the infinite loop condition in the underlying jai-ext library. Organizations should update to the appropriate patched version based on their current deployment:
- For version 2.25.x deployments, upgrade to 2.25.7 or later
- For version 2.26.x deployments, upgrade to 2.26.3 or later
- For version 2.27.x deployments, upgrade to 2.27.0 or later
Additional details can be found in the OSGeo Issue Tracker and the associated pull request.
Workarounds
- Disable WMS dynamic styling by configuring GeoServer to reject SLD documents containing Jiffle rendering transformations
- Remove or disable the Jiffle WPS process from the GeoServer WPS configuration
- Implement network-level access controls to restrict WMS and WPS endpoints to trusted clients only
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) to filter requests containing suspicious Jiffle script patterns
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
