# CVE-2025-5878: ESAPI esapi-java-legacy SQL Injection Defense Encoder.encodeForSQL special element

> Attackers can exploit improper neutralization in the SQL injection defense encoder to perform SQL injection attacks against applications using this Java library.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2025-5878, GHSA-hxjw-v2v5-hpcr, RHLW-2026-cc6f4a613453615e, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-5878

## What is CVE-2025-5878?

CVE-2025-5878 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in esapi-java-legacy, published on 29 Jun 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability was found in ESAPI esapi-java-legacy and classified as problematic. This issue affects the interface Encoder.encodeForSQL of the SQL Injection Defense. An attack leads to an improper neutralization of special elements. The attack may be initiated remotely and an exploit has been disclosed to the public. The project was contacted early about this issue and handled it with an exceptional level of professionalism. Upgrading to version 2.7.0.0 is able to address this issue. Commit ID f75ac2c2647a81d2cfbdc9c899f8719c240ed512 is disabling the feature by default and any attempt to use it will trigger a warning. And commit ID e2322914304d9b1c52523ff24be495b7832f6a56 is updating the misleading Java class documentation to warn about the risks.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), CWE-138 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-5878?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-5878?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2025-5878 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-5878 exists.

Public exploit code:

- 针对ESAPI 的ESAPI.encoder().encodeForSQL()方法，OracleCodec对象的sql 时间盲注利用 (github_poc): https://github.com/fantasy-fql/ESAPI-SQLinjection-CVE-2025-5878-Exploit

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-5878 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-5878 is a medium-severity SQL injection vulnerability in esapi-java-legacy, published on 29 Jun 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-5878 exists.

Affected product: esapi-java-legacy. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5878/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5878/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5878
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-5878
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-5878

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5878/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.