CVE-2025-49003: DataEase RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49003 Overview

CVE-2025-49003 is a remote code execution vulnerability in DataEase, an open source business intelligence and data visualization tool. The vulnerability exists due to improper handling of Unicode character case conversions in Java, where specific characters like "ı" (dotless lowercase i) become "I" when converted to uppercase, and "ſ" (long s) becomes "S" when converted to uppercase. A threat actor who crafts a malicious message exploiting this character conversion can achieve remote code execution on affected systems.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on DataEase servers by exploiting Unicode case mapping inconsistencies, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

Affected Products

• DataEase versions prior to 2.10.11
• DataEase open source business intelligence deployments
• Self-hosted DataEase data visualization instances

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-26 - CVE-2025-49003 published to NVD
• 2025-07-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49003

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under the category of Input Validation Error (CWE-153: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). The flaw stems from Java's Unicode case conversion behavior where certain special characters transform into ASCII equivalents during uppercase operations. This characteristic can be exploited to bypass security filters and input validation mechanisms that rely on case-insensitive string comparisons.

The attack leverages the fact that security checks may be performed on the original input containing Unicode characters, but subsequent processing uses the uppercase-converted string. This allows attackers to smuggle malicious payloads through validation routines by using carefully selected Unicode characters that bypass pattern matching but resolve to dangerous characters after case conversion.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper handling of Unicode normalization and case folding operations in DataEase's input processing logic. When Java's String.toUpperCase() method is called, certain Unicode characters map to different ASCII characters:

• The Turkish dotless lowercase "ı" (U+0131) converts to ASCII "I" (U+0049)
• The Latin long "ſ" (U+017F) converts to ASCII "S" (U+0053)

Security validation performed before case conversion may not recognize these characters as potentially dangerous, while post-conversion processing treats them as regular ASCII characters that could form part of an exploit payload.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests to a DataEase instance containing Unicode characters that bypass input validation. When the application processes and converts these characters to uppercase, the resulting string contains the attacker's intended payload, leading to remote code execution.

For example, an attacker might construct a payload where validation checks for the pattern "SCRIPT" would fail against "ſcript" or "ſCRIPT", but after uppercase conversion, the string becomes "SCRIPT" and executes in the vulnerable context.

The vulnerability mechanism relies on Unicode case mapping inconsistencies in Java's string handling. Technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the GitHub Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49003

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to DataEase containing unusual Unicode characters, particularly U+0131 (ı) or U+017F (ſ)
• Web server logs showing requests with mixed Unicode and ASCII characters in suspicious patterns
• Unexpected process spawning from the DataEase Java process
• Anomalous outbound network connections from the DataEase server

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing Unicode lookalike characters in potentially dangerous contexts
• Implement network-level monitoring for unusual character encodings in HTTP traffic to DataEase endpoints
• Enable verbose logging on DataEase instances to capture full request details including Unicode characters
• Monitor for unauthorized file system changes or new process execution on DataEase hosts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure SentinelOne Singularity to monitor DataEase processes for suspicious child process creation or command execution
• Set up alerts for HTTP requests containing known Unicode bypass characters (U+0131, U+017F) targeting DataEase services
• Implement file integrity monitoring on DataEase installation directories
• Monitor Java process behavior for indicators of code injection or command execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49003

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade DataEase to version 2.10.11 or later immediately
• If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to DataEase instances using firewall rules
• Enable comprehensive logging to detect potential exploitation attempts
• Consider temporarily taking vulnerable DataEase instances offline until patching is complete

Patch Information

DataEase has released version 2.10.11 which addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the issue. The fix properly handles Unicode character normalization before security validation to prevent case mapping bypass attacks. For detailed patch information and release notes, refer to the DataEase Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• No official workarounds are available according to the vendor advisory
• Implement network segmentation to limit access to DataEase instances to trusted networks only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with Unicode normalization capabilities in front of DataEase
• Consider using a reverse proxy that normalizes Unicode input before forwarding to DataEase

# Example: Restrict access to DataEase using iptables
# Allow only trusted network ranges to access DataEase port
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8100 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8100 -j DROP