Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
An authenticated SurrealDB user with OWNER or EDITOR permissions can create a database function that monopolizes server CPU. The database may stop serving queries and connections, and configured timeouts do not halt the workload. Recovery may require a manual restart, creating a material availability risk.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for production, shared, or externally reachable databases where privileged credentials could be misused. The vulnerability does not indicate data theft, but a single authorized or compromised account could cause sustained service disruption. Upgrade promptly and reduce privileged access while scheduling remediation.
Technical view
CVE-2025-71397 is a CWE-835 CPU-exhaustion flaw in SurrealDB custom functions. Nested FOR loops bypass the practical protection provided by individual loop limits. A privileged authenticated user can trigger sustained CPU consumption remotely, causing denial of service without compromising data confidentiality or integrity.
Likely exposure
Exposure exists where affected SurrealDB versions permit potentially untrusted or compromised accounts with OWNER or EDITOR rights at root, namespace, or database scope. Internet exposure increases reachability, but internal and multi-tenant deployments remain relevant because authentication and elevated database permissions are required.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not identified as being in CISA KEV. Exploitation requires authentication and OWNER or EDITOR permissions, but has low stated complexity and needs no user interaction. Successful abuse can make the server unavailable until restarted.
Researcher notes
Affected releases are SurrealDB before 2.0.5, 2.1.x before 2.1.5, and 2.2.x before 2.2.2. CVSS 4.0 is 7.1 with high vulnerable-system availability impact. Testing should remain non-disruptive because configured timeouts reportedly cannot terminate the CPU-consuming execution.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected branches to 2.0.5, 2.1.5, or 2.2.2 respectively, or a later vendor-supported release.
- Restrict OWNER and EDITOR permissions to trusted accounts with a documented operational need.
- Review custom database functions and remove unnecessary definitions created by privileged users.
- Monitor CPU saturation and database responsiveness until upgrades are complete.
- Follow the SurrealDB vendor advisory for any additional remediation guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory every SurrealDB deployment and record its exact version and branch.
- Identify accounts holding OWNER or EDITOR permissions at root, namespace, and database levels.
- Audit custom function definitions for unexpected nested loops or unexplained recent changes.
- Confirm upgraded instances report a fixed or later vendor-supported version.
- Verify monitoring detects CPU saturation and operations personnel can safely restart affected services.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-835: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-71397 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.1 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-pxw4-94j3-v9pf)CVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- VulnCheck Advisory: SurrealDB before 2.2.2 CPU Exhaustion via nested FOR loopsCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.