Cyber Pulse: CVEs Diagnosed by a Paramedic Turned Analyst – CVE-2025-6205 – DELMIA Apriso Authorization Bypass

Intro

A newly disclosed vulnerability in Dassault Systèmes’ DELMIA Apriso platform allows attackers to bypass critical authorization checks and manipulate or exfiltrate sensitive manufacturing execution system (MES) data. CVE-2025-6205 is a classic case of insecure role validation that enables unauthorized access to privileged APIs—no exploit kit needed. Exposure is high among manufacturing, supply chain, and industrial IoT deployments.

📌 CVE Context

– Products & versions affected
Dassault Systèmes DELMIA Apriso 2023x and earlier
– Disclosure timeline
Reported: July 2025
Patched: October 15, 2025
– Attack vector, auth level, impact
Remote / Authenticated low-priv user / Privilege Escalation & Sensitive Data Access

CVSS Metric Breakdown (v4.0) - CVE-2025-6205 (Missing Authorization Check in Apriso API)
Attack Vector (AV): Network
Attack Complexity (AC): Low
Privileges Required (PR): Low
User Interaction (UI): None
Confidentiality Impact (VC): High
Integrity Impact (VI): Medium
Availability Impact (VA): Low
Scope Changed (SC): Yes
Safety Impact (SI): None
Automation (SA): Medium
Exploit Maturity: Proof-of-Concept
Base Score: 8.6 (High)

– Exploit tools, payloads observed, confirmed victims, global exposure count if known
Proof-of-concept scripts have surfaced in private Telegram exploit groups. No confirmed ransomware usage yet, but threat intel suggests interest from APT33-aligned actors targeting industrial supply chain software. Public exposure remains low due to internal-facing nature of MES deployments.

🔬 Exploitation Detail

– Step-by-step breakdown
1. Authenticated user sends crafted API request using an endpoint reserved for higher roles
2. The backend fails to enforce role-based access control (RBAC)
3. Attacker retrieves or modifies sensitive production, scheduling, or configuration data
– Vulnerability exists in backend API controller for workflow configuration

POST /Apriso/api/v1/WorkflowConfig/UpdateGlobal
Authorization: Bearer [low-priv-token]
Body: {"config":"new_settings_for_all_factories"}

📎 Attacker Behavior Snapshot

– Sends API requests normally reserved for admin-level users
– Receives 200 OK response with sensitive data or confirmation
– No error or audit log if role validation is not patched
– In some cases, attacker can trigger cascading changes across distributed manufacturing nodes

🧩 Why This Matters

This vulnerability highlights how legacy configurations become high-value targets. Poor internal access controls in MES and OT platforms create a soft underbelly for threat actors with lateral movement goals.

Exploitation results in:

Privilege escalation within MES systems
Stealthy modification of manufacturing workflows
Potential sabotage or supply chain disruption

🧩 MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

Initial Access: T1078 – Valid Accounts
Execution: T1203 – Exploitation for Client Execution
Persistence: T1136 – Create Account

🧪 Detection Rules

YARA Rule (Memory/Doc/PCAP):

rule Apriso_Authorization_Bypass
{
  strings:
    $a = "UpdateGlobal"
    $b = "WorkflowConfig"
    $c = "Authorization: Bearer "
  condition:
    all of them
}

Suricata or Zeek (Network):

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"Apriso unauthorized API access attempt"; content:"/WorkflowConfig/UpdateGlobal"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:26205; rev:1;)

Sigma Rule (SIEM/EDR):

title: Unauthorized WorkflowConfig Access in Apriso
logsource:
  product: webserver
  service: iis
detection:
  selection:
    uri_path|contains: "/WorkflowConfig/UpdateGlobal"
    status_code: 200
  filter:
    user_role: "admin"
  condition: selection and not filter
level: high

🔎 Detection Strategies

✅ Network Detection:

Inspect internal API traffic for workflow-related endpoints accessed by low-priv users
Correlate HTTP 200 responses with unexpected source IPs or user-agent patterns
Track API paths that are rarely accessed outside of admin workstations

✅ Endpoint Detection:

Monitor IIS logs or reverse proxy logs for sensitive endpoint access
Use EDR to flag access tokens reused across roles or escalated during active sessions
Monitor database calls tied to configuration changes with unknown session IDs

⚡ Splunk Query


index=aprilogs sourcetype=iis
"WorkflowConfig/UpdateGlobal" OR "config" 
| stats count by user, uri_path, src_ip, http_status
| where http_status=200 AND user_role!="admin"

🛠️ SOC Detection Strategy

– Prioritize alerts where low-priv users successfully access configuration APIs
– Investigate any POST request to sensitive endpoints not preceded by role escalation logs
– Create a baseline of typical workflow update traffic and flag anomalies
– Enrich alerts with user role, department, IP subnet, and token age
– Escalate if changes affect multiple production zones or involve external commands

🛠️ Tools & Techniques

🛡️ Mitigation & Response

– Patch info: Apply vendor hotfix from Dassault Systèmes released Oct 15, 2025
– Temporary mitigations: API gateway rules blocking non-admins from accessing workflow endpoints
– Config changes: Enforce strict RBAC and access token TTLs
– Enable audit logging for all sensitive API paths
– Force logout of all sessions issued prior to patch
– Conduct tabletop review of emergency factory override procedures in case of compromise

📋 Incident Response Snippets

– grep or Splunk search for “WorkflowConfig” in POST requests
– Ask: Did the affected user have business justification for API access?
– Review workflow diffs over 30-day period
– Revoke all tokens from impacted sessions and force re-authentication

📚 Suggested Reading & External References

– https://www.3ds.com/security/advisories
– https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/
– https://github.com/OT-CERT/CVE-2025-6205-Analysis

🚑 EMS Lens: Field Insight

You don’t assume a low-priority call stays that way. This exploit teaches us that a “basic user” can become the epicenter of operational collapse if RBAC is broken. Monitor everything. Validate roles. Don’t trust the label—watch the vitals.

🗾️ Final Thoughts

Authorization bypasses are silent killers—this one lives inside trusted systems and elevates the risk of subtle supply chain manipulation.

Most effective action: Patch and lock down internal API permissions now, before low-privileged users become your next breach vector.

Published: 2025-10-28

Ramblings of a CyberSecurity Nerd