CVE-2025-31360: Growatt Cloud Portal Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-31360 Overview

CVE-2025-31360 is an Authorization Bypass vulnerability affecting the Growatt Cloud Portal, a platform used to manage solar energy systems and smart home devices. Unauthenticated attackers can trigger device actions associated with specific "scenes" of arbitrary users, representing a significant security flaw that could allow unauthorized control of IoT devices and energy systems.

This vulnerability stems from Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR), classified under CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key). The flaw allows attackers to bypass authorization controls without authentication, potentially enabling them to manipulate device configurations and trigger automated actions belonging to other users.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can trigger arbitrary device actions and "scenes" for any user on the Growatt Cloud Portal, potentially affecting solar inverters, energy storage systems, and connected smart home devices without requiring authentication.

Affected Products

• Growatt Cloud Portal (all versions prior to patch)
• Growatt solar inverter management systems connected to the cloud portal
• IoT devices and smart home integrations utilizing Growatt scene automation

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-15 - CVE-2025-31360 published to NVD
• 2025-11-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-31360

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the Growatt Cloud Portal's scene management functionality. Scenes are automation configurations that allow users to define specific actions for their connected devices, such as turning on solar inverters at specific times or adjusting energy storage parameters.

The core issue lies in the authorization mechanism that governs scene triggering. The application fails to properly validate that the requesting user has legitimate access to the scene they are attempting to trigger. This creates an IDOR condition where an attacker can reference scene identifiers belonging to other users and execute those scenes without any authentication.

The network-based attack vector means this vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the internet. The lack of authentication requirements significantly lowers the barrier to exploitation, as attackers only need to enumerate or guess valid scene identifiers to trigger unauthorized actions.

Root Cause

The root cause is classified under CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key. The application uses user-controllable parameters (scene identifiers) to access resources without properly verifying that the current session or request has authorization to access those specific resources. The absence of proper ownership validation allows any request—authenticated or not—to trigger scenes belonging to any user in the system.

Attack Vector

The attack leverages the network-accessible API endpoints of the Growatt Cloud Portal. An attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to the scene triggering endpoint with scene identifiers belonging to other users. Since the application does not verify the requester's identity or ownership of the scene, the request is processed and the associated device actions are executed.

The attack requires no user interaction and can be automated to affect multiple users simultaneously. Potential impacts include:

• Unauthorized control of solar inverters and energy storage systems
• Manipulation of smart home device states
• Disruption of automated energy management routines
• Potential physical safety implications for connected systems

Due to the nature of this vulnerability, code examples are not publicly available. The vulnerability manifests in the scene triggering API endpoint where authorization checks are missing or insufficient. For detailed technical information, refer to the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-25-105-04.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31360

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual API requests to scene triggering endpoints from unexpected IP addresses or geographic locations
• Multiple scene activation requests for different user accounts originating from a single source
• Anomalous device state changes without corresponding user activity in logs
• Increased error rates or failed authorization attempts in application logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement API request monitoring to detect enumeration patterns targeting scene identifiers
• Deploy anomaly detection for scene activation events that occur outside normal user behavior patterns
• Configure alerts for scene triggers originating from IP addresses not associated with the account owner
• Monitor for bulk requests to scene-related API endpoints that may indicate automated exploitation

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all scene management API endpoints
• Implement rate limiting and alerting thresholds for scene activation requests
• Deploy network-level monitoring to identify unusual traffic patterns to the Growatt Cloud Portal
• Establish baseline user behavior metrics for scene usage to facilitate anomaly detection

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31360

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-25-105-04 for vendor-specific guidance and patches
• Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the Growatt Cloud Portal
• Enable additional authentication controls where possible
• Audit scene configurations and review recent activation logs for unauthorized activity

Patch Information

Growatt has been notified of this vulnerability through the coordinated disclosure process documented in the CISA ICS Advisory. Organizations should check the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-25-105-04 for the latest patch availability and apply updates as soon as they become available.

Workarounds

• Implement IP allowlisting to restrict access to the Growatt Cloud Portal from trusted networks only
• Disable or limit scene automation features until patches are applied
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block IDOR attack patterns
• Monitor and audit all scene-related API activity for suspicious behavior

# Example: Network-level access restriction using firewall rules
# Restrict access to Growatt Cloud Portal to known IP ranges

# For iptables (Linux):
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s YOUR_TRUSTED_IP_RANGE -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP

# For Windows Firewall:
# netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Restrict Growatt Portal" dir=in action=allow protocol=tcp localport=443 remoteip=YOUR_TRUSTED_IP_RANGE