CVE-2018-25340: Smartshop 1 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2018-25340 Overview

CVE-2018-25340 is a SQL injection vulnerability [CWE-89] in Smartshop 1, an open-source e-commerce application. The flaw exists in category.php, where the id GET parameter is concatenated into a SQL query without sanitization. Unauthenticated remote attackers can submit UNION-based SQL injection payloads to extract arbitrary data from the backend database, including usernames, password hashes, and other sensitive records. No authentication, user interaction, or special privileges are required to exploit the vulnerability.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exfiltrate the entire backend database, including credential material, through a single crafted HTTP GET request to category.php.

Affected Products

• Smartshop version 1 (open-source e-commerce application by smakosh)
• Distributions retrieved from the upstream GitHub repository archive
• Deployments of the Behance-published Smartshop free e-commerce template

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-05-23 - CVE-2018-25340 published to the National Vulnerability Database
• 2026-05-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2018-25340

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the category.php endpoint of Smartshop 1. The script accepts an id parameter through HTTP GET and embeds it directly into a SQL statement issued against the application database. Because the parameter is neither validated nor parameterized, an attacker controls the structure of the executed query.

UNION-based injection is the documented exploitation path. An attacker appends a UNION SELECT clause to the id value, instructing the database to return rows from arbitrary tables alongside the legitimate result set. The application then renders this attacker-controlled data in the HTTP response.

The weakness is classified under [CWE-89] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). Exploitation requires only network access to the web application and does not depend on existing accounts, session state, or social engineering.

Root Cause

The root cause is direct concatenation of unsanitized user input into a SQL query. Smartshop 1 does not use prepared statements or parameterized queries for the id parameter handled in category.php. No input filtering, type coercion, or allow-list validation is applied before the value reaches the database driver.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is remote and unauthenticated over the network. An attacker issues a GET request to category.php with a malicious id value containing a UNION-based SQL injection payload. The response discloses query results, enabling enumeration of database schema and extraction of records such as the users table. Public exploitation details are available in Exploit-DB #44823 and the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory.

GET /category.php?id=<UNION-based SQL injection payload> HTTP/1.1
Host: <target>

Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25340

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP GET requests to category.php containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, FROM, --, or information_schema in the id parameter
• Web server access log entries with abnormally long, URL-encoded id values targeting /category.php
• Database query logs showing UNION statements originating from the Smartshop application user
• Outbound responses from category.php containing column counts or table data inconsistent with normal catalog browsing

Detection Strategies

• Deploy WAF or reverse proxy rules that flag SQL metacharacters and UNION-based patterns in query string parameters reaching category.php
• Correlate web access logs with database query logs to identify malformed or attacker-shaped SQL statements
• Hunt for repeated requests to category.php with varying id payloads, a signature of automated SQLi tooling such as sqlmap

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the database server to capture full query text for the Smartshop service account
• Alert on unexpected reads against credential or user tables from the web application context
• Forward web, application, and database logs to a centralized analytics platform for cross-source correlation

How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25340

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict public exposure of Smartshop 1 deployments by placing them behind a WAF or removing them from the internet until remediated
• Audit web and database logs for prior exploitation indicators, focusing on requests to category.php
• Rotate any credentials, password hashes, or API keys stored in the Smartshop database, since they must be considered compromised

Patch Information

No official vendor patch is referenced in the available advisory data. Smartshop 1 is an archived open-source project, and operators should migrate to an actively maintained e-commerce platform. Reference material is published in the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory and the upstream GitHub Repository Archive.

Workarounds

• Replace the vulnerable query in category.php with a prepared statement using bound parameters for the id value
• Enforce numeric type validation on id before any database call, rejecting non-integer input at the application layer
• Apply a WAF signature blocking SQL metacharacters and UNION-based payloads on the category.php endpoint
• Run the database account used by Smartshop with least privilege, removing access to tables outside the catalog schema

# Example: enforce integer-only id at the web server layer (nginx)
location = /category.php {
    if ($arg_id !~ "^[0-9]+$") {
        return 400;
    }
    fastcgi_pass php_backend;
}