CVE-2019-25494: Homey BNB V4 SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25494 Overview

CVE-2019-25494 is a SQL injection vulnerability affecting Homey BNB V4, a vacation rental booking platform clone script. The vulnerability exists in the administration panel login functionality, where improper input validation allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication by injecting SQL syntax into the username and password fields. Attackers can submit SQL operators such as '=' 'or' in both credential fields to manipulate the authentication query and gain unauthorized access to the admin panel.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can completely bypass administrator authentication to gain full access to the Homey BNB admin panel, potentially compromising all user data, booking information, and payment details stored in the application.

Affected Products

• Homey BNB V4 (Airbnb Clone Script by DOD IT Solutions)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-27 - CVE CVE-2019-25494 published to NVD
• 2026-03-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25494

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) resides in the authentication mechanism of the Homey BNB V4 administration panel. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the login form before incorporating it into SQL queries. When an attacker submits specially crafted SQL syntax in the username and password fields, the malicious input is directly concatenated into the authentication query, allowing the attacker to alter the query logic.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no prior authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation grants the attacker full administrative access to the vacation rental platform, enabling them to view, modify, or delete sensitive data including user accounts, booking records, and potentially financial information.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the direct concatenation of user input into SQL queries without proper parameterization or input sanitization. The authentication query likely constructs a WHERE clause that directly incorporates the username and password values submitted by the user. Without prepared statements or proper escaping, SQL metacharacters are interpreted as part of the query structure rather than literal data values.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker accesses the administration panel login page and submits SQL injection payloads in the username and password fields. By using SQL operators like '=' 'or' or similar boolean-based injection techniques, the attacker can manipulate the WHERE clause to always evaluate as true, effectively bypassing the password check entirely.

The authentication query likely follows a pattern where injected input transforms the logic from requiring valid credentials to accepting any input. For example, injecting ' OR '1'='1 style payloads can cause the WHERE clause condition to always succeed, granting access without valid credentials.

For detailed technical information and proof-of-concept details, refer to Exploit-DB #46616 and the VulnCheck Homey BnB Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25494

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual login attempts to the admin panel containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, OR, AND, =, --, or #
• Successful administrator logins from unexpected IP addresses or geographic locations
• Database query logs showing malformed or suspicious authentication queries
• Multiple rapid authentication attempts to the admin panel from a single source

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in POST requests to the admin login endpoint
• Monitor application logs for login attempts containing SQL keywords and operators
• Implement database query logging and alerting for anomalous authentication queries
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with SQL injection signature rules

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the admin panel authentication endpoint
• Configure alerts for successful logins from new or suspicious IP addresses
• Monitor database server logs for query errors or unusual query patterns
• Establish baseline metrics for admin login frequency and alert on anomalies

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25494

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the admin panel login page using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Review admin access logs for signs of unauthorized access or exploitation attempts
• Consider taking the application offline until a permanent fix is applied

Patch Information

Consult the vendor DOD IT Solutions for updated versions of Homey BNB that address this SQL injection vulnerability. Ensure all software is updated to the latest available version with security patches applied.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements and parameterized queries in the authentication code to prevent SQL injection
• Add input validation to reject SQL metacharacters in login fields
• Deploy network-level access controls to limit who can reach the admin panel
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin accounts as an additional security layer
• Consider implementing account lockout policies to slow brute-force and injection attempts

# Example: Apache .htaccess to restrict admin panel 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>