CVE-2019-25491: Homey BNB V4 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25491 Overview

CVE-2019-25491 is a SQL injection vulnerability affecting Homey BNB V4, an Airbnb clone script. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting malicious SQL code through the catid parameter. Attackers can send specially crafted GET requests to the admin/cms_getpagetitle.php endpoint with malicious catid values to extract sensitive database information, potentially compromising the entire application database.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database contents including user credentials, personal information, and financial data stored in the Homey BNB application.

Affected Products

• Homey BNB V4 (Airbnb Clone Script)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-27 - CVE CVE-2019-25491 published to NVD
• 2026-03-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25491

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the Homey BNB V4 application due to insufficient input validation in the cms_getpagetitle.php file located within the admin directory. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input passed through the catid GET parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This classic injection flaw allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and execute arbitrary SQL commands against the backend database.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it requires no authentication to exploit. Any remote attacker with network access to the vulnerable application can craft malicious requests targeting the endpoint. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized data extraction, data modification, or in some configurations, complete database server compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the lack of parameterized queries or prepared statements when processing the catid parameter. The application directly concatenates user input into SQL queries without sanitization, escaping, or type validation. This allows attackers to inject SQL syntax that modifies the intended query logic.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring only HTTP/HTTPS access to the vulnerable endpoint. An attacker sends a GET request to admin/cms_getpagetitle.php with a malicious payload in the catid parameter. The payload breaks out of the expected numeric context and appends additional SQL commands. Common exploitation techniques include UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to enumerate database contents character by character, or time-based blind injection when direct output is not visible.

The vulnerability can be exploited using standard SQL injection techniques. For detailed technical information and proof-of-concept code, refer to the Exploit-DB #46616 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25491

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual GET requests to admin/cms_getpagetitle.php containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, OR, AND, or comment sequences (--, /*)
• Web server logs showing requests with encoded SQL injection payloads in the catid parameter
• Database query logs revealing anomalous queries or syntax errors from the cms_getpagetitle functionality
• Unexpected database access patterns or data exfiltration attempts from the application

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns targeting the catid parameter
• Monitor web server access logs for suspicious requests to admin/cms_getpagetitle.php with non-numeric catid values
• Implement database query monitoring to alert on unusual query structures or errors from the affected endpoint
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with SQL injection signatures to identify exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on web servers and database servers to capture detailed request and query information
• Set up alerting for failed SQL query attempts that may indicate injection testing
• Review access logs regularly for patterns consistent with automated SQL injection tools such as sqlmap
• Monitor for unusual database read operations that may indicate data exfiltration

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25491

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the admin/cms_getpagetitle.php endpoint through IP whitelisting or authentication requirements
• Deploy WAF rules to filter SQL injection payloads in the catid parameter
• Consider disabling or removing the vulnerable endpoint if it is not critical to application functionality
• Review database permissions to ensure the application uses least-privilege database accounts

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations using Homey BNB V4 should contact DOD IT Solutions for guidance on available updates or fixes. In the absence of an official patch, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

Workarounds

• Implement server-side input validation to ensure the catid parameter only accepts numeric values
• Use prepared statements or parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection in the affected code
• Apply a WAF or reverse proxy with SQL injection filtering capabilities in front of the application
• Restrict network access to the admin directory to trusted IP addresses only
• Consider migrating to a more actively maintained vacation rental platform if no vendor support is available

# Example: Apache .htaccess restriction for admin directory
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    # Restrict access to trusted IPs only
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
    
    # Block requests with SQL injection patterns in query string
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (union|select|insert|delete|drop|update|;|--) [NC]
    RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</Directory>