CVE-2019-25473: Clinic Pro SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25473 Overview

Clinic Pro contains a SQL injection vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting SQL code through the month parameter. Attackers can send POST requests to the monthly_expense_overview endpoint with crafted month values using boolean-based blind, time-based blind, or error-based SQL injection techniques to extract sensitive database information.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection flaw to extract sensitive database information, potentially compromising patient records, financial data, and other protected health information stored in the Clinic Pro application.

Affected Products

• Clinic Pro (affected versions not specified)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-12 - CVE CVE-2019-25473 published to NVD
• 2026-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25473

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The flaw exists in the monthly_expense_overview endpoint of Clinic Pro, where user-supplied input through the month parameter is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries.

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network and requires low privileges (authenticated access) to exploit. No user interaction is required for successful exploitation. When exploited, this vulnerability can result in high confidentiality impact, allowing attackers to read sensitive database contents, along with low integrity impact enabling limited data modification.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and improper parameterization of SQL queries in the monthly_expense_overview functionality. The application fails to sanitize or properly escape the month parameter value before concatenating it into SQL query strings, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL syntax that alters the intended query logic.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, targeting the monthly_expense_overview endpoint through POST requests. Authenticated attackers can craft malicious month parameter values containing SQL injection payloads. The vulnerability supports multiple injection techniques:

• Boolean-based blind SQL injection: Attackers can infer database contents by observing differences in application responses based on true/false conditions injected into queries
• Time-based blind SQL injection: Attackers can extract data by injecting time-delay commands and measuring response times
• Error-based SQL injection: Attackers can leverage database error messages to extract information directly

Technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the Exploit-DB #46642 advisory and the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25473

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual POST requests to the monthly_expense_overview endpoint containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, semicolons, or UNION keywords in the month parameter
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries or syntax errors
• Abnormal database query execution times that may indicate time-based blind SQL injection attempts
• Unexpected database access patterns from authenticated user accounts

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in POST request parameters
• Implement application-level logging to capture all requests to the monthly_expense_overview endpoint and flag suspicious month parameter values
• Configure database activity monitoring to alert on unusual query patterns, failed queries, or access to sensitive tables
• Use SentinelOne Singularity to detect post-exploitation activities such as data exfiltration attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for repeated requests to /monthly_expense_overview with varying month parameter values
• Set up alerts for database errors related to SQL syntax that may indicate injection attempts
• Track authenticated user sessions making unusual numbers of requests to expense-related endpoints
• Implement anomaly detection for database query response times to identify time-based injection probing

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25473

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the monthly_expense_overview endpoint to only essential personnel until patches can be applied
• Implement input validation at the network perimeter using WAF rules to filter SQL injection attempts
• Review and audit all authenticated user accounts for signs of compromise or misuse
• Enable detailed logging on the affected endpoint to capture potential exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Consult the vendor for official patch information and security updates for Clinic Pro. Review the VulnCheck SQL Injection Advisory for the latest remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Implement server-side input validation to restrict the month parameter to expected numeric or date formats only
• Deploy a web application firewall with SQL injection detection rules in front of the Clinic Pro application
• Use database stored procedures with parameterized queries as an additional layer of defense
• Consider network segmentation to limit database access from the web application tier

# Example WAF rule configuration for ModSecurity
SecRule ARGS:month "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in month parameter',\
    log,\
    auditlog"