CVE-2018-25176: Alive Parish SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2018-25176 Overview

CVE-2018-25176 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability affecting Alive Parish 2.0.4, a church management software application. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries by injecting malicious code through the key parameter in the search endpoint. Additionally, attackers can exploit arbitrary file upload functionality via the person photo upload feature, uploading malicious files to the images/uploaded directory for remote code execution.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can fully compromise the application database through SQL injection and achieve remote code execution via arbitrary file upload, potentially leading to complete system takeover.

Affected Products

• Alive Parish 2.0.4

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-06 - CVE CVE-2018-25176 published to NVD
• 2026-03-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2018-25176

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability consists of two distinct attack vectors within the Alive Parish 2.0.4 application. The primary vulnerability is an SQL injection flaw that exists in the search functionality, where user-supplied input through the key parameter is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. This allows attackers to manipulate database queries without authentication, potentially extracting sensitive information, modifying data, or escalating privileges within the application.

The secondary attack vector involves an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the person photo upload functionality. The application fails to properly validate uploaded files, allowing attackers to upload malicious scripts (such as PHP web shells) to the images/uploaded directory. Once uploaded, these files can be accessed directly via the web server, enabling remote code execution on the underlying system.

The combination of these vulnerabilities is particularly dangerous as an attacker could first use SQL injection to enumerate the system and then leverage the file upload functionality to gain persistent access through a web shell.

Root Cause

The root cause of the SQL injection vulnerability stems from improper input validation and the failure to use parameterized queries or prepared statements when handling user input in the search functionality. The key parameter is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without proper sanitization or escaping.

For the arbitrary file upload vulnerability, the application lacks proper validation of file types, content verification, and secure storage practices. The uploaded files are stored in a web-accessible directory without renaming or restricting execution permissions, allowing uploaded scripts to be executed directly.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can exploit the SQL injection vulnerability by crafting malicious HTTP requests to the search endpoint with specially crafted key parameter values containing SQL syntax. For the file upload attack, an adversary can submit a malicious file through the person photo upload form, which will be stored in the images/uploaded directory and can subsequently be accessed and executed via direct URL access.

The SQL injection attack could follow a pattern where the attacker first identifies the injection point through error-based or blind SQL injection techniques, then proceeds to enumerate database tables, extract credentials, or modify application data. The file upload attack chain involves uploading a malicious script file disguised as an image, then navigating directly to the uploaded file to trigger execution.

Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25176

Indicators of Compromise

• Suspicious HTTP requests to search endpoints containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION statements, or comment sequences (--, /**/)
• Unusual file uploads in the images/uploaded directory, particularly files with executable extensions (.php, .phtml, .php5) or files containing script content
• Web server access logs showing direct requests to recently uploaded files in the images/uploaded directory
• Database query logs showing malformed or unexpected SQL statements originating from the search functionality

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in the key parameter
• Monitor file system changes in the images/uploaded directory for new files with suspicious extensions or content
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on HTTP requests containing SQL injection signatures
• Enable detailed database query logging to identify anomalous or malicious query patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Set up real-time alerting for file creation events in web-accessible upload directories
• Implement log correlation to identify sequential SQL injection attempts followed by file upload activities
• Monitor for outbound connections from the web server that could indicate successful compromise and command-and-control communication
• Regularly audit database access logs for unauthorized data extraction attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25176

Immediate Actions Required

• Take the Alive Parish 2.0.4 application offline or restrict access to trusted networks only until a patch is available or mitigations are in place
• Remove execution permissions from the images/uploaded directory and configure the web server to deny script execution in upload directories
• Implement input validation and sanitization for the key parameter at the web server or WAF level
• Review the images/uploaded directory for any suspicious files and remove unauthorized uploads

Patch Information

No vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should consult the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory and Exploit-DB #45840 for the latest security guidance. Consider migrating to alternative church management software if the vendor does not provide timely security updates.

Workarounds

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block SQL injection patterns in request parameters
• Configure the web server to prevent execution of scripts in the images/uploaded directory by adding appropriate directives (e.g., php_flag engine off for Apache)
• Implement network-level access controls to restrict access to the application from trusted IP addresses only
• Use a reverse proxy to filter and sanitize incoming requests before they reach the application

# Apache configuration to prevent script execution in upload directory
<Directory "/var/www/html/images/uploaded">
    php_flag engine off
    Options -ExecCGI
    <FilesMatch "\.(php|phtml|php5|php7)$">
        Deny from all
    </FilesMatch>
</Directory>