External risk intelligence

IBM watsonx Orchestrate SQL Injection Affects Cloud Pak for Data

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2025-0165

The product is a cartridge for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, which is commonly deployed as a web-based platform for data and AI services. Such platforms frequently expose API endpoints and web interfaces to users or external systems, making the underlying application surface likely to be reachable over a network in typical enterprise deployments.

SQL Injection

Ibm Watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge For Ibm Cloud Pak For Data

4.8.4 to 4.8.55.0.0 to before 5.2.0.1

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This vulnerability affects IBM's watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, allowing remote attackers to manipulate back-end database information through specially crafted SQL statements. The main concern is confirming relevance and exposure, as the potential impact on data integrity and confidentiality warrants investigation.

An undetected database entry and modification flaw.
Critical for data integrity and security assurance.
Verify product usage and assess data exposure.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted SQL commands over the network to the affected IBM watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge. This allows them to interact with the back-end database, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

No authentication or user interaction needed.
Sending malicious SQL commands.
Unauthorized database access and modification.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted SQL statements. When supported, this could allow an attacker to view, add, modify, or delete information in the back-end database.

Database information could be compromised.
Specially crafted SQL statements could be sent.
Information may be viewed, added, modified, or deleted.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The IBM watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge for IBM Cloud Pak for Data product is affected by a critical SQL injection vulnerability. In a real-world scenario, this issue would likely fall under the purview of the Platform Engineering or Data Engineering teams responsible for managing IBM Cloud Pak for Data deployments. The immediate first step is to identify all instances of this cartridge within the environment, assess their network exposure and business criticality, and then coordinate with the relevant product owners to plan for remediation, which may involve vendor updates or other risk mitigation strategies.

Platform or Data Engineering owns resolution.
Verify exposure and business criticality first.
Plan remediation with product owners.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

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Frequently asked questions

What is the IBM watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge?

This software is an add-on component, or cartridge, for IBM Cloud Pak for Data. It is used to automate complex business tasks and orchestrate workflows within the broader IBM data and AI platform. By integrating into this environment, it helps organizations manage and scale intelligent automation processes across their data infrastructure.

What does CVE-2025-0165 mean by SQL injection?

SQL injection is a security weakness, classified as CWE-89, where an application improperly handles user-supplied data before passing it to a database. Because the software fails to sanitize these inputs, an attacker can supply malicious SQL code. This allows them to trick the system into executing unintended commands, potentially granting unauthorized access to read, change, or destroy information stored in the back-end database.

How can an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker exploits this flaw by sending specially crafted SQL statements over the network to the affected cartridge. Because this vulnerability does not require any authentication or user interaction to succeed, a remote attacker can interact with the system directly. The vulnerability is triggered by the submission of malicious input designed to manipulate database queries.

Do I need to worry if my instance is internal?

Halo Surface Signal notes that this platform is typically deployed for data services, often exposing API endpoints or web interfaces. While internal-only deployments reduce the risk of outside interference, the critical nature of this flaw means it remains a serious concern. You should consider the accessibility of these interfaces to any user on your network, not just those outside your perimeter.

What are the first steps to address this CVE?

Your priority is to inventory your environment to locate all running instances of the IBM watsonx Orchestrate Cartridge. Once identified, work with your Platform or Data Engineering teams to evaluate the business criticality of those specific deployments. Coordinate with product owners to track the release of vendor updates or apply recommended security configurations to mitigate the risk to your databases.

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7243596

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.