CVE-2018-25382: Zechat 1.5 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2018-25382 Overview

CVE-2018-25382 is a SQL injection vulnerability in Zechat 1.5, a PHP chat script distributed by Bylancer. The flaw resides in the uname parameter of profile.php, which passes unsanitized user input into a backend SQL query. Unauthenticated attackers can submit crafted UNION-based payloads to enumerate the information_schema database and extract table names, column definitions, and stored records. The issue is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).

Critical Impact
Remote, unauthenticated attackers can exfiltrate the contents of the Zechat database, including credentials and private chat data, by sending a single crafted HTTP request.

Affected Products

Bylancer Zechat 1.5 (PHP chat script)
Deployments exposing profile.php with the vulnerable uname parameter
Any hosted instance distributed via the Bylancer storefront prior to vendor remediation

Discovery Timeline

2026-05-29 - CVE-2018-25382 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-05-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2018-25382

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from concatenating the HTTP uname parameter directly into a SQL statement executed by profile.php. Because the application does not apply parameterized queries or input validation, attackers can break out of the intended string context and append arbitrary SQL clauses. UNION-based injection is viable, which means the attacker can match the column count of the original query and return data from any table the database user can read.

The attack requires no authentication, no user interaction, and no special privileges. A single HTTP GET request is sufficient to retrieve arbitrary rows from the database. Because PHP scripts of this class typically run with a single shared database account, the impact extends to every table in the application schema.

Root Cause

The root cause is unsafe construction of SQL queries in the profile lookup handler. User-controlled input from uname is interpolated into the query string without prepared statements, bound parameters, or context-aware escaping. The query also surfaces query results back to the response body, allowing UNION SELECT payloads to render extracted data directly to the attacker.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network against the public-facing profile.php endpoint. An attacker issues a request such as profile.php?uname=<payload> containing a UNION SELECT crafted to enumerate information_schema.tables and information_schema.columns. Once table and column names are known, subsequent payloads extract sensitive records, including user identities and authentication material. Refer to Exploit-DB #45523 and the VulnCheck ZecHat SQL Injection Advisory for payload specifics.

No verified exploitation code is reproduced here. The referenced advisories document the request structure and parameter handling required to trigger the flaw.

Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25382

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to profile.php containing UNION, SELECT, information_schema, or SQL comment sequences such as -- and /* inside the uname parameter.
Repeated requests to profile.php from a single source iterating through column counts or table names.
Web server access logs showing abnormally long uname values or URL-encoded SQL keywords (%20UNION%20, %27, 0x).

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall rules that flag SQL keywords and tautologies in the uname query parameter.
Enable database query logging and alert on queries referencing information_schema originating from the Zechat application user.
Inspect application error logs for SQL syntax errors tied to profile.php, which often indicate probing activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward web server, WAF, and database logs to a centralized analytics platform and correlate by client IP and session.
Establish a baseline of normal profile.php traffic and alert on deviations in parameter length, character class, or request rate.
Monitor outbound data volume from the database host for unexpected spikes that may indicate bulk extraction.

How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25382

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict access to profile.php at the web server or WAF layer until a vendor fix is verified.
Rotate any credentials, API keys, or session secrets stored in the Zechat database, assuming compromise.
Audit the application database for unauthorized accounts or modified records introduced via injected queries.

Patch Information

No vendor patch is referenced in the NVD entry at the time of publication. Operators should consult the Bylancer ZecHat product page and the VulnCheck advisory for the latest remediation guidance, and replace direct query construction with parameterized statements in any local fork.

Workarounds

Place the application behind a WAF with signatures for UNION-based SQL injection targeting the uname parameter.
Modify the source to use PDO prepared statements or mysqli parameter binding for all database calls in profile.php.
Apply a deny-list at the reverse proxy that rejects requests containing SQL metacharacters in uname until code-level fixes are in place.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule blocking SQL keywords in the uname parameter
SecRule ARGS:uname "@rx (?i)(union(\s|/\*.*\*/)+select|information_schema|--|;)" \
    "id:1002518,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'CVE-2018-25382 Zechat SQLi attempt'"