CVE-2019-25530: uHotelBooking System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25530 Overview

CVE-2019-25530 is an SQL injection vulnerability present in the uHotelBooking System that allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting malicious SQL code through the system_page GET parameter. Attackers can send crafted requests to index.php with malicious system_page values using time-based blind SQL injection techniques to extract sensitive database information. This vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations using the affected hotel booking software, as it can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive guest data, booking records, and administrative credentials.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database contents including customer personal information, payment details, and administrative credentials without any authentication requirements.

Affected Products

• uHotelBooking System (all versions)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-12 - CVE CVE-2019-25530 published to NVD
• 2026-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25530

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The uHotelBooking System fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the system_page GET parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands that are executed by the database server with the privileges of the web application.

The attack is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication, making the attack surface accessible to any remote attacker with network access to the vulnerable application. The time-based blind SQL injection technique allows attackers to systematically extract database contents character by character, even when direct error messages or query results are not displayed to the attacker.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper input validation and parameterized queries in the application's database interaction layer. The system_page parameter is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without sanitization or escaping, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject their own SQL commands. This represents a fundamental failure in secure coding practices where user input is trusted without verification.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no user interaction or authentication. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP GET requests to the index.php file with malicious payloads in the system_page parameter. Using time-based blind SQL injection, the attacker can infer database contents by observing response timing differences when injected conditional statements cause deliberate delays in query execution.

The exploitation methodology involves sending requests that include SQL SLEEP or BENCHMARK functions within conditional statements. By varying the conditions and measuring response times, attackers can determine whether specific conditions are true or false, allowing them to extract data one bit at a time.

For detailed exploitation examples, refer to the Exploit-DB #46587 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory which document the attack methodology.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25530

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP GET requests to index.php containing SQL keywords such as SLEEP, BENCHMARK, UNION, SELECT, or comment sequences (--, /**/) in the system_page parameter
• Web server logs showing requests with time-based SQL injection patterns including conditional expressions and delay functions
• Database server logs indicating abnormally long query execution times or unusual query patterns
• Multiple rapid sequential requests from the same source with varying system_page parameter values

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in GET parameters
• Implement intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures to identify time-based blind SQL injection attack patterns
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous query patterns or unexpected SLEEP/BENCHMARK function calls
• Configure application-level logging to capture and alert on suspicious parameter values

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed access logging on web servers hosting uHotelBooking System instances
• Set up automated alerting for requests containing SQL injection indicators in URL parameters
• Monitor database server performance metrics for unusual latency patterns that may indicate ongoing exploitation attempts
• Implement rate limiting on the index.php endpoint to slow down automated exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25530

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit all uHotelBooking System installations in your environment and identify internet-exposed instances
• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) protection with SQL injection filtering rules as an immediate mitigation layer
• Restrict network access to uHotelBooking System instances to trusted IP ranges where operationally feasible
• Review database permissions and ensure the web application database user has minimal required privileges

Patch Information

No vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should contact the uHotelBooking System vendor directly for remediation guidance or consider implementing compensating controls. Review the VulnCheck Advisory for the latest remediation status.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application level to whitelist acceptable values for the system_page parameter
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF configured to filter SQL injection attempts targeting the system_page parameter
• Modify application code to use parameterized queries or prepared statements for all database interactions involving the system_page parameter
• Restrict database user privileges to read-only access where possible to limit the impact of successful exploitation

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection in system_page parameter
SecRule ARGS:system_page "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in system_page parameter',\
    tag:'CVE-2019-25530'"