CVE-2018-25183: Shipping System CMS SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2018-25183 Overview

CVE-2018-25183 is a SQL injection vulnerability affecting Shipping System CMS version 1.0 that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication by injecting malicious SQL code through the username parameter. This vulnerability enables attackers to submit crafted SQL payloads using boolean-based blind techniques in POST requests to the admin login endpoint, ultimately authenticating without valid credentials.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can completely bypass authentication and gain administrative access to the Shipping System CMS, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, system manipulation, and further compromise of backend databases.

Affected Products

• Shipping System CMS 1.0
• Shipping System by Parcel (PHP and MySQL)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-26 - CVE CVE-2018-25183 published to NVD
• 2026-03-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2018-25183

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the admin login endpoint of Shipping System CMS 1.0. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the username parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to manipulate the authentication query's logic, bypassing normal credential verification entirely.

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. When successfully exploited, an attacker can gain unauthorized access to the administrative interface, which typically provides complete control over the shipping management system and its underlying database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the lack of parameterized queries in the authentication mechanism. The application directly concatenates user input from the username field into SQL statements without proper sanitization or escaping. This classic SQL injection pattern allows attackers to alter the intended SQL query structure and manipulate authentication logic.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and targets the admin login endpoint via HTTP POST requests. Attackers craft malicious SQL payloads that exploit boolean-based blind SQL injection techniques. By manipulating the username parameter, the attacker can inject SQL code that causes the authentication query to always evaluate to true, effectively granting access without knowing valid credentials.

The boolean-based blind technique works by injecting conditional statements that change the application's behavior based on whether the injected condition evaluates to true or false. Attackers can iteratively extract information or simply bypass authentication by crafting conditions that always evaluate favorably.

For detailed technical exploitation examples, refer to the Exploit-DB #44722 entry and the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25183

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed POST requests to the admin login endpoint containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes ('), double dashes (--), or OR 1=1 patterns
• Multiple rapid authentication attempts from a single IP address with varying username payloads
• Successful admin logins from unexpected IP addresses or geographic locations
• Web application logs showing SQL error messages or unusual query patterns

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with SQL injection detection rulesets to filter malicious POST parameters
• Implement application-layer logging to capture all authentication attempts with full request details
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection patterns in HTTP traffic
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous authentication queries or syntax errors

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed access logging on web servers hosting Shipping System CMS
• Configure alerts for repeated failed authentication attempts followed by a successful login
• Monitor for database queries containing SQL injection indicators originating from the web application
• Review admin session creation events for anomalies in timing or source IP patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25183

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the admin login endpoint using IP allowlisting or VPN requirements
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Review recent admin login activity for signs of unauthorized access
• Consider taking the application offline until remediation can be completed if sensitive data is at risk

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been identified in the available vulnerability data. Shipping System CMS 1.0 appears to be a legacy or unsupported product. Organizations should evaluate migrating to an actively maintained shipping management solution. Additional information about the affected software can be found at the WeCodex PHP & MySQL Item page.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application layer to reject SQL metacharacters in the username field
• Modify the authentication code to use prepared statements or parameterized queries
• Add a secondary authentication factor (2FA) to reduce the impact of authentication bypass
• Place the admin interface behind a reverse proxy with additional authentication requirements

# Example: Restrict admin access via .htaccess (Apache)
<Location /admin>
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</Location>