Vulnerability: An unauthenticated SQL injection flaw in Metabase’s password-reset endpoint (GHSA-vwf4-m7j8-wcjf) can give a remote attacker administrator access without credentials.
Exploitation: Metabase confirmed active exploitation of its Cloud platform; Framework and Tally reported instance access on August 3. Affects versions 1.58 onward, 0.58-0.63 branches.
Impact: Administrator access can allow attackers to change Metabase configuration, steal stored database credentials, and read or export accessible data. Framework and Tally separately confirmed unauthorized access to customer data.
Remediation: Metabase Cloud is patched. Self-hosted customers must upgrade to 0.58.24-0.63.5 and rotate credentials if the reset endpoint was exposed.
Metabase disclosed on August 6 that attackers had exploited an unauthenticated SQL injection zero-day against its Cloud platform. Metabase CEO Sameer Al-Sakran said in a company blog post that the flaw affects versions 1.58 and above, using Metabase’s Enterprise Edition numbering. The Open Source Edition uses a separate 0.x scheme for the same fix. Self-hosted deployments are included.
Two Metabase customers have already confirmed the fallout. Framework, the modular laptop maker, disclosed that attackers accessed its customer data through a compromised Metabase environment. Tally, the online form builder, made a similar disclosure. The details of what each company lost differ, but both point to the same root cause.
For self-hosted administrators, attackers are actively exploiting this vulnerability, and it has already caused confirmed data-theft incidents. The response must extend beyond patching alone.
How an unauthenticated endpoint became an admin takeover
A single unauthenticated endpoint is behind the entire incident. Here’s how a password-reset request turned into administrator access and stolen data.
Metabase published security advisory GHSA-vwf4-m7j8-wcjf on GitHub on August 6, covering an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability affecting the Metabase application database.
The flaw sits in the public POST /api/session/reset_password endpoint. No login is required to reach it.
Attack chain: SQL injection leads to administrator access, then to configuration changes, stolen database credentials, and exported data.
CVSS 10.0 comes from AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. The Scope Changed (S:C) component is the differentiator. Without it, the same profile would cap at 9.8.
Security reporting flags a possible compromise pattern: a POST to /api/session/reset_password returning HTTP 400, followed by a successful GET to /api/user/current. Treat this as an investigation lead, not confirmed proof of compromise.
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Framework and tally: What attackers actually reached
Framework and Tally have each confirmed they were victims of the Metabase SQL injection zero-day. Their disclosures show what administrator access exposed, on each side.
Framework:
Metabase notified the company on August 6 that an attacker had accessed its instance on August 3. Framework rotated its credentials and found no evidence of access to systems outside Metabase. Framework confirmed the exposure covered customer names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, and login IP addresses. Payment and order data were not affected.
Tally:
Attackers compromised its Metabase analytics environment on the same date, August 3. The breach exposed user email addresses and passwords stored as a cryptographic hash. Tally stores form submissions and their answers separately, and said they were not exposed. Initially, Tally had not confirmed which hashing algorithm it uses or whether it salted the exposed hashes.
Attack path at a glance
Attack Stage
What Happened
Operational Risk
Initial access
Unauthenticated attacker reaches /api/session/reset_password with no credentials
Affected, unpatched instances with the vulnerable /api/session/reset_password endpoint publicly accessible are exposed to unauthenticated remote compromise
SQL injection
Attacker injects arbitrary SQL into Metabase’s application database
Attacker can manipulate application data and potentially change Metabase configuration
Privilege escalation
Injected SQL can give the attacker administrator access to the Metabase instance
Attacker can alter configuration, accounts, and API keys
Credential exposure
Admin access exposes stored credentials for connected databases
Stolen database credentials can enable further access to connected data sources, depending on their network accessibility and authorization controls
Data theft
Attacker reads and exports data available through those connections
Confirmed at Framework and Tally, both exposing customer records
Self-hosted response checklist
Metabase’s advisory lays out a specific sequence for any self-hosted instance that had the affected endpoint publicly reachable:
Upgrade to the fixed release for your branch: 0.58.24, 0.59.21, 0.60.17, 0.61.11, 0.62.9, or 0.63.5 (Open Source Edition). Enterprise Edition customers should move to the matching 1.x build, for example 1.63.5.
If an immediate upgrade is not possible, block the /api/session/reset_password endpoint as a temporary measure.
Revoke every active session by clearing the application’s session table.
Check administrator accounts for unexpected changes.
Rotate credentials for every database connected to Metabase.
Review data warehouse and Metabase query-history logs for signs of unauthorized access.
Patching the Metabase application does not rotate credentials for the databases it connects to. Those are separate systems, and they need separate attention.
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Hexnode has a role here, but a narrow one. Here’s what UEM and XDR can each do for this incident, and where the line sits.
Hexnode UEM
Hexnode UEM can support patch and configuration compliance for the servers and admin workstations that host a self-hosted Metabase deployment, across Windows and macOS devices.
It can support patch and configuration compliance for the host server OS and admin endpoints that run a self-hosted Metabase deployment, across Windows, macOS, and Linux. It secures the underlying host, not the Metabase web application itself.
Hexnode XDR
Hexnode XDR can detect host-level process anomalies on managed endpoints, primarily Windows, that may surface after exploitation. It does not parse or inspect web-layer SQL traffic.
It can detect host-level process anomalies on managed endpoints, primarily Windows, that may surface after exploitation. Identifying vulnerabilities in Metabase and reviewing its application logs or query history remain separate administrative tasks.
Reviewing Metabase’s own activity logs and applying the vendor’s patch remain the administrator’s responsibility, with Metabase support where applicable.
FAQs
Has Metabase assigned a CVE for this vulnerability?
No. The advisory (GHSA-vwf4-m7j8-wcjf) has no assigned CVE yet. The flaw still carries a Critical rating and a CVSS score of 10.0.
Are Metabase Cloud customers still at risk?
Metabase has upgraded all Cloud instances, and they are no longer vulnerable to this flaw. If an attacker accessed a customer’s instance before the fix, that customer may still need to investigate. They may also need to address any resulting exposure.
Does installing the patch alone resolve exposure if an instance was already compromised?
No. Patching closes the entry point but doesn’t undo access or credentials already stolen. Instances with the endpoint publicly reachable should be treated as compromised, requiring the full response checklist, including session revocation and credential rotation.
Conclusion
The version number tells administrators almost nothing about whether the Metabase SQL injection flaw actually touched an instance. Self-hosted administrators should treat the version upgrade as the starting point of their response, not the end of it.
Organizations that ran an affected version with the vulnerable reset-password endpoint publicly accessible should complete Metabase’s post-upgrade response steps and review logs for the documented attack pattern; credential rotation mitigates exposure but does not determine whether compromise occurred. A clean version number does not, by itself, confirm a clean instance.
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