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Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2025-12740

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v4.0 Published 2025-11-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A Looker user with a Developer role could create a database connection using IBM DB2 driver and, by manipulating LookML, cause Looker to execute a malicious command, due to inadequate filtering of the driver's parameters. Looker-hosted and Self-hosted were found to be vulnerable. This issue has already been mitigated for Looker-hosted instances. No user action is required for these. Self-hosted instances must be upgraded as soon as possible. This vulnerability has been patched in all supported versions of Self-hosted. The versions below have all been updated to protect from this vulnerability. You can download these versions at the Looker download page https://download.looker.com/ : * 25.0.93+ * 25.6.84+ * 25.12.42+ * 25.14.50+ * 25.16.44+

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Looker allows users with Developer role to create database connections using IBM DB2 driver. Due to inadequate filtering of driver parameters, an attacker can manipulate LookML to inject and execute malicious commands on the Looker server. This is a command injection vulnerability in the DB2 driver's parameter handling.

MitigationSelf-hosted Looker instances must be upgraded immediately to one of the patched versions (25.0.93+, 25.6.84+, 25.12.42+, 25.14.50+, or 25.16.44+). Looker-hosted instances are already protected.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Red

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm self-hosted Looker deployment
    Determine if Looker is self-hosted (on-prem or IaaS) rather than Looker-hosted (SaaS). Check the instance URL and admin console for deployment type.
    Affected if Instance is self-hosted (Looker-hosted SaaS instances are already protected)
  2. Identify installed Looker version
    Navigate to Looker admin panel > About or check the version through the Looker help menu. Compare against patched versions: 25.0.93+, 25.6.84+, 25.12.42+, 25.14.50+, or 25.16.44+.
    Affected if Version is lower than any of the patched versions listed
  3. Check for IBM DB2 driver configuration
    Review Looker admin console > Database connections to identify if any connections use the IBM DB2 driver. Look for connection details specifying DB2 as the dialect.
    Affected if IBM DB2 driver is configured and actively used for a database connection
  4. Review Developer role assignments
    Check Looker admin console > Users for accounts assigned the Developer role. Developers can create and modify LookML and database connections.
    Affected if Any user possesses Developer role permissions
  5. Audit LookML for suspicious DB2 parameter patterns
    Inspect LookML files and connection configurations for unusual driver parameters in DB2 connections. Review connection parameters for unexpected or injected values.
    Affected if DB2 connection parameters contain unexpected or malformed values that may indicate injection

A self-hosted Looker instance running an unpatched version with IBM DB2 driver configured and Developer role users present is vulnerable to command injection.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Self-hosted Looker instances must be upgraded immediately to one of the patched versions (25.0.93+, 25.6.84+, 25.12.42+, 25.14.50+, or 25.16.44+). Looker-hosted instances are already protected.

Recommended fix High confidence

Any of: 25.0.93+, 25.6.84+, 25.12.42+, 25.14.50+, or 25.16.44+

  1. Navigate to the Looker download page at https://download.looker.com/
  2. Download the appropriate patched version for your current deployment (25.0.93+, 25.6.84+, 25.12.42+, 25.14.50+, or 25.16.44+)
  3. Upgrade your self-hosted Looker instance to the downloaded patched version
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful and the IBM DB2 driver connection is functioning correctly

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-12740 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data