# Hydrosystem Control System flaws enable database takeover

Published: 2026-04-09 · Severity: high · Sectors: infrastructure
Canonical: https://vorant.io/reports/d6ec3963-ed87-5008-b203-040d219b141d/hydrosystem-control-system-flaws-enable-database-takeover

> Three vulnerabilities in Hydrosystem Control System allow credential theft, unauthorized file access, and SQL injection, enabling full database compromise; fixed in version 9.8.5.

CERT Polska coordinated disclosure of three vulnerabilities in Hydrosystem Control System, a water infrastructure control platform. CVE-2026-4901 exposes user credentials through improper logging of sensitive information. CVE-2026-34184 permits unauthorized directory access due to missing authorization checks, allowing attackers to read files and execute PHP scripts against the database. CVE-2026-34185 is a widespread SQL injection flaw affecting most scripts and parameters, enabling authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands.

The vulnerabilities can be chained: an attacker exploiting CVE-2026-34184 can access logs containing credentials from CVE-2026-4901, then leverage those credentials with CVE-2026-34185 to gain full database control. The issues affect water system infrastructure and were responsibly disclosed by Jarosław Kamiński from Securitum. All three vulnerabilities are resolved in version 9.8.5.

## Mentioned in this report

- Vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-34184, CVE-2026-34185, CVE-2026-4901

## Detection guidance (public sample)

### Possible SQL Injection Attempt Against Hydrosystem Control System Scripts

ATT&CK: T1190

Detects SQL injection payload patterns in web requests targeting Hydrosystem Control System scripts, consistent with CVE-2026-34185 exploitation. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.

```yaml
title: Possible SQL Injection Attempt Against Hydrosystem Control System Scripts
id: 00b11846-c830-5e0c-8cec-374018922cc3
status: experimental
description: 'Detects common SQL injection syntax patterns within web request query
  strings or POST bodies directed at Hydrosystem Control System endpoints, matching
  the widespread unauthenticated/authenticated SQL injection flaw (CVE-2026-34185)
  affecting most scripts and parameters.

  '
references:
- CERT Polska Hydrosystem Control System advisory
author: Vorant
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
    - UNION SELECT
    - ''' OR ''1''=''1'
    - OR 1=1
    - --+
    - SLEEP(
    - benchmark(
    - ''' AND ''1''=''1'
    - information_schema
  filter_common:
    cs-uri-query|contains:
    - search=union
  condition: selection and not filter_common
falsepositives:
- Security scanners or penetration testing tools probing the application
- Legitimate queries containing SQL-like keywords in free-text search fields
level: high
tags:
- attack.t1190
- attack.initial_access
```

### Unauthorized Directory or PHP Script Access Attempt on Hydrosystem Control System

ATT&CK: T1190

Detects path traversal or direct access attempts to internal PHP scripts/directories without proper authorization, consistent with CVE-2026-34184 missing authorization checks. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.

```yaml
title: Unauthorized Directory or PHP Script Access Attempt on Hydrosystem Control
  System
id: ee9b5064-0433-5be9-8383-585910603e49
status: experimental
description: 'Detects web requests containing path traversal sequences or direct references
  to internal/administrative PHP scripts and directories that should require authorization,
  matching the missing authorization check vulnerability (CVE-2026-34184) that allows
  unauthorized file read and PHP script execution against the database.

  '
references:
- CERT Polska Hydrosystem Control System advisory
author: Vorant
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection_traversal:
    cs-uri-stem|contains:
    - ../
    - ..\\
    - '%2e%2e%2f'
    - '%2e%2e/'
  selection_status:
    sc-status:
    - 200
    - 206
  condition: selection_traversal and selection_status
falsepositives:
- Vulnerability scanners testing for path traversal
- Misconfigured reverse proxies rewriting legitimate paths with encoded characters
level: high
tags:
- attack.t1190
- attack.initial_access
```

### Web Request Accessing Application Log Files Potentially Containing Credentials

ATT&CK: T1552.001

Detects HTTP requests to log file paths or extensions that may expose credentials logged in plaintext, consistent with CVE-2026-4901 improper logging of sensitive information. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.

```yaml
title: Web Request Accessing Application Log Files Potentially Containing Credentials
id: a326e1d9-cdc2-516d-b858-51a58f68c1ff
status: experimental
description: 'Detects direct HTTP access to log files or log directories that may
  contain improperly logged credentials, matching the credential exposure through
  logging vulnerability (CVE-2026-4901). This behavior is typically chained after
  exploiting a directory access vulnerability to harvest credentials for later authenticated
  abuse.

  '
references:
- CERT Polska Hydrosystem Control System advisory
author: Vorant
logsource:
  category: webserver
detection:
  selection:
    cs-uri-stem|contains:
    - .log
    - /logs/
    - /log/
    - debug.log
    - error.log
    - access.log
  selection_status:
    sc-status:
    - 200
    - 206
  condition: selection and selection_status
falsepositives:
- Authorized administrators reviewing application logs through a web-based log viewer
- Monitoring or SIEM agents pulling log files over HTTP
level: medium
tags:
- attack.t1552.001
- attack.credential_access
```

Behavioural rules are generated from public reporting — validate in your environment before deploying.

Source reporting: https://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/04/CVE-2026-4901

---

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