CVE-2025-53053: Oracle MySQL Server DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-53053 is a denial of service vulnerability in Oracle MySQL Server affecting versions 8.0.0-8.0.43, 8.4.0-8.4.6, and 9.0.0-9.4.0. Attackers with high privileges can cause system crashes and unauthorized data modifications. This article covers technical details, affected versions, impact assessment, and mitigation strategies.

CVE-2025-53053 Overview

CVE-2025-53053 is a vulnerability in the Data Manipulation Language (DML) component of Oracle MySQL Server. The flaw allows a high-privileged attacker with network access over multiple protocols to compromise the server. Successful exploitation can cause a hang or a repeatable crash, resulting in a complete denial of service. Attackers can also achieve unauthorized update, insert, or delete access to a subset of MySQL Server data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption and was addressed in the Oracle Critical Patch Update of October 2025.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can trigger complete denial of service of MySQL Server and tamper with accessible data through the DML subsystem.

Affected Products

Oracle MySQL Server versions 8.0.0 through 8.0.43
Oracle MySQL Server versions 8.4.0 through 8.4.6
Oracle MySQL Server versions 9.0.0 through 9.4.0

Discovery Timeline

2025-10-21 - CVE CVE-2025-53053 published to NVD
2025-10-21 - Oracle releases security patch as part of the October 2025 Critical Patch Update
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-53053

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the DML processing path of MySQL Server. DML operations include INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and SELECT statements that modify or query table data. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can submit crafted DML operations that cause MySQL Server to consume resources without bound, hang, or crash repeatedly.

The impact extends beyond availability. Oracle confirms the flaw also permits unauthorized modification of some server-accessible data. This dual impact — integrity loss and complete denial of service — makes the issue relevant for production database tier hardening, even though exploitation requires an authenticated session.

Root Cause

The root cause is uncontrolled resource consumption during DML processing [CWE-400]. The server fails to constrain internal resource usage when handling specific DML inputs, leading to the hang or crash condition. Oracle has not published implementation-level details of the defective code path.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the MySQL Server over one of its supported protocols and valid credentials with high privileges on the target instance. No user interaction is required. An attacker leverages an authenticated connection to submit crafted DML statements against the server, triggering the denial of service or unauthorized data modification.

No code example is provided. No public proof-of-concept has been published, and no exploitation in the wild has been reported. See the Oracle Critical Patch Update - October 2025 for vendor-supplied details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53053

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected MySQL Server crashes or hangs correlated with specific authenticated sessions issuing DML statements.
Repeated mysqld restarts recorded in the error log following queries from a single user or host.
Unexplained row-level changes (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) on tables that should be static or append-only.
Spikes in CPU, memory, or I/O usage on the database host that terminate in server failure.

Detection Strategies

Monitor the MySQL error log and performance_schema for abnormal query termination, long-running DML statements, and signal-based mysqld crashes.
Enable the MySQL general query log or audit plugin to capture DML activity from privileged accounts for post-incident review.
Correlate database restart events with authentication logs to identify the originating session.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on mysqld process restarts and on sustained connection failures from application tiers.
Track resource utilization per session using performance_schema.events_statements_history_long and flag outliers.
Review privileged account usage and remove high-privilege grants that are not operationally required.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53053

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the Oracle Critical Patch Update of October 2025 to all affected MySQL Server deployments.
Inventory MySQL Server instances and identify those running versions 8.0.0-8.0.43, 8.4.0-8.4.6, or 9.0.0-9.4.0.
Audit database accounts with high privileges and revoke unnecessary grants to reduce the exploitable surface.
Restrict network reachability of MySQL Server to known application hosts and administrative jump boxes.

Patch Information

Oracle addressed CVE-2025-53053 in the Oracle Critical Patch Update - October 2025. Upgrade MySQL Server to a fixed release beyond 8.0.43, 8.4.6, or 9.4.0 according to the branch in use. Review the Oracle advisory for the exact fixed version number and any binary-only patch artifacts applicable to your platform.

Workarounds

Limit high-privilege accounts (SUPER, PROCESS, broad schema-level INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE) to the minimum set of administrators and service accounts.
Enforce network-level access control through firewalls, security groups, or bind-address restrictions so MySQL is not exposed to untrusted networks.
Enable TLS for all client connections and require authentication plugins that resist credential replay.
Deploy database activity monitoring to detect anomalous DML patterns from privileged users until the patch is applied.

bash

# Example: restrict MySQL to a trusted interface and verify version
# /etc/mysql/my.cnf
[mysqld]
bind-address = 10.0.0.25
skip-networking = OFF

# Verify the running server version against the fixed release
mysql -u admin -p -e "SELECT VERSION();"