Vitess versions prior to 23.0.3 and 22.0.4 allow an attacker who can read and write to the backup storage location, such as an S3 bucket, to modify backup manifest files; when the backup is restored the program will execute the decompressor command specified in the manifest. This results in arbitrary code execution within the Vitess deployment, giving the attacker unauthorized access to production data and the ability to run any commands. The weakness is a command injection vulnerability (CWE‑78).

The affected product is Vitess provided by Linux Foundation / VitessIO. All releases from 22.0.0 up to and including 22.0.3, and from 23.0.0 up to and including 23.0.2, are vulnerable. Versions 22.0.4 and 23.0.3 contain the patch that eliminates the flaw.

The CVSS score of 8.4 marks this flaw as high severity, while the EPSS score of less than 1 percent indicates a low likelihood of exploitation at the time of this report. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV database, but if an attacker gains write access to the backup storage they can manipulate the manifest and trigger arbitrary code execution when the backup is restored. The attack vector requires the ability to modify backup files and to execute a backup restore in a production environment; no external network access is needed beyond what is normally required to access Vitess and the storage bucket.