IBM Watsonx Vulnerability Enables SQL Injection Attacks

A critical vulnerability in the IBM Watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge for IBM Cloud Pak for Data has been disclosed, enabling blind SQL injection attacks that could compromise sensitive data.

Tracked as CVE-2025-0165, this flaw allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious SQL statements, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, manipulation, or deletion in the back-end database.

IBM’s Watsonx platform offers advanced AI and orchestration capabilities within the Cloud Pak for Data suite.

The Orchestrate Cartridge component streamlines automated workflows and integrates with various data sources.

However, a security bulletin released by IBM on August 31, 2025, warns that versions 4.8.4 through 5.2 are affected by a blind SQL injection vulnerability, where user input is not properly sanitized before being embedded in SQL commands.

Vulnerability Details

According to the official advisory, the weakness arises from improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands, classified under CWE-89.

An attacker with valid credentials could craft SQL statements that are executed on the database without adequate validation, leading to the following potential impacts:

• Confidentiality: Read sensitive information, including user credentials and proprietary data
• Integrity: Modify or insert unauthorized records
• Availability: Delete or corrupt critical tables, resulting in service disruption

IBM assigns a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.6, reflecting a high-severity threat that requires prompt action.

Affected Versions

The vulnerability impacts the following Watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge releases:

• 4.8.4 through 4.8.5
• 5.0.0 through 5.2

Customers running any of these versions are at risk if their environments are exposed to untrusted users or external networks.

Remediation and Mitigation

IBM strongly recommends that all affected installations be upgraded to watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge version 5.2.0.1, which patches the SQL injection flaw. Steps for remediation include:

1. Backup existing configurations and databases.
2. Download the updated cartridge from IBM Fix Central.
3. Install the patch in a maintenance window to minimize operational impact.
4. Verify successful deployment by attempting known injection patterns in a controlled test environment.
5. Monitor logs for any anomalous SQL errors indicating exploitation attempts.

In addition to upgrading, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls (WAFs) with SQL injection detection rules and enforcing least-privilege access for database credentials used by the Watsonx services.

The discovery of CVE-2025-0165 underscores the importance of rigorous input validation in modern AI orchestration platforms.

While IBM has released a timely patch, enterprises leveraging Watsonx Orchestrate must act swiftly to apply the update and reinforce defenses against SQL injection threats. Failure to do so could expose critical data assets and disrupt analytic workflows.

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