CVE-2019-25391: Ashop Shopping Cart SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2019-25391 Overview

Ashop Shopping Cart Software contains a time-based blind SQL injection vulnerability that allows attackers to manipulate database queries through the blacklistitemid parameter. Attackers can send POST requests to the admin/bannedcustomers.php endpoint with crafted SQL payloads using SLEEP functions to extract sensitive database information. This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) enables unauthorized access to backend database systems and can lead to significant data compromise.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries against the backend database, potentially exposing customer data, credentials, and other sensitive information stored within the e-commerce platform.

Affected Products

• Ashop Shopping Cart Software (all versions)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-22 - CVE CVE-2019-25391 published to NVD
• 2026-02-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25391

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as a time-based blind SQL injection, which is a particularly stealthy form of SQL injection attack. The vulnerable endpoint admin/bannedcustomers.php fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the blacklistitemid parameter before incorporating it into database queries.

Time-based blind SQL injection exploits the database's ability to pause execution for a specified duration. Attackers can infer information about the database structure and contents by measuring response times when injecting SLEEP or WAITFOR DELAY commands into the malicious payload. Even without direct error messages or visible output, attackers can systematically extract data one character at a time by observing whether the application's response is delayed.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means it can be exploited remotely without requiring local system access, significantly increasing the potential attack surface.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the bannedcustomers.php script. The blacklistitemid parameter is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper sanitization, escaping, or the use of prepared statements. This allows attacker-controlled input to modify the structure and logic of database queries.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network by sending specially crafted POST requests to the admin/bannedcustomers.php endpoint. An attacker injects SQL payloads containing time-delay functions (such as SLEEP() in MySQL) into the blacklistitemid parameter. By measuring the response time, the attacker can determine whether their injected condition evaluated as true or false, allowing them to extract database information character by character.

For example, an attacker could use conditional statements combined with SLEEP functions to determine if specific characters match values in the database. A delayed response indicates a successful match, while an immediate response indicates no match. This technique, while slower than other SQL injection methods, is highly effective at bypassing security controls that rely on error message filtering.

For detailed technical information and proof-of-concept examples, refer to the Exploit-DB #46681 entry and the Vulncheck Advisory on SQL Injection.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25391

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP POST requests to admin/bannedcustomers.php with SQL keywords in the blacklistitemid parameter
• Database query logs showing SLEEP, WAITFOR DELAY, or BENCHMARK functions
• Abnormally slow response times from the application server coinciding with specific requests
• Web server access logs containing SQL injection patterns or encoded SQL syntax

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in POST parameters
• Monitor application logs for requests containing SQL keywords such as SLEEP, UNION, SELECT, or time-delay functions
• Deploy Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) with signatures for time-based SQL injection attacks
• Enable verbose database query logging to identify malformed or suspicious queries

Monitoring Recommendations

• Set up alerting for HTTP requests to bannedcustomers.php that contain suspicious parameter values
• Monitor database server performance for unexplained latency spikes that may indicate time-based injection attempts
• Implement response time anomaly detection to identify potential blind SQL injection probing
• Review web server access logs regularly for patterns consistent with automated SQL injection scanning tools

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25391

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the admin/bannedcustomers.php endpoint using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection enabled
• Review and audit all database accounts used by the application to ensure principle of least privilege
• Consider taking the affected functionality offline until a patch is available or implemented

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations using Ashop Shopping Cart Software should contact the vendor for security update availability. In the meantime, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

For additional vulnerability information, consult the Vulncheck Advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation on the blacklistitemid parameter to accept only numeric values
• Use parameterized queries or prepared statements to prevent SQL injection
• Add authentication and authorization checks to verify admin privileges before processing requests
• Deploy network-level access controls to limit who can reach administrative endpoints

# Example: Apache .htaccess to restrict admin directory access by IP
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>