CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-12742NVD status: Deferred

Looker: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-12742 is a high-severity improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command vulnerability in Looker from Google Cloud, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 24.12.108, 24.18.200, 25.0.78 as the first without the flaw, so updating Looker to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.25% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Looker to 24.12.108 or 24.18.200 or 25.0.78 or 25.6.65, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Google CloudLookerbefore 24.12.108; before 24.18.200; before 25.0.78; before 25.6.65; before 25.8.47; before 25.12.10; before 25.1424.12.108, 24.18.200, 25.0.78, 25.6.65, 25.8.47, 25.12.10

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Attack requirements
PresentThe target must be in a specific state or configuration for the attack to work.
Privileges required
HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/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. Scored by CNA.

Official description

A Looker user with a Developer role could cause Looker to execute a malicious command, due to insecure processing of Teradata driver 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/ : * 24.12.108+ * 24.18.200+ * 25.0.78+ * 25.6.65+ * 25.8.47+ * 25.12.10+ * 25.14+

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command

The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command before it is sent to a downstream component.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • If at all possible, use library calls rather than external processes to recreate the desired functionality.
  • For any data that will be used to generate a command to be executed, keep as much of that data out of external control as possible. For example, in web applications, this may require storing the data locally in the session's state instead of sending it out to the client in a hidden form field.
  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.

More Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command vulnerabilities (CWE-78)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Looker

All Looker vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command vulnerabilities

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