CVE-2019-25541: PHP Mall 4.1 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25541 Overview

Netartmedia PHP Mall 4.1 contains multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities that allow unauthenticated attackers to manipulate database queries through unvalidated parameters. Attackers can inject time-based blind SQL payloads via the id parameter in index.php or the Email parameter in loginaction.php to extract sensitive database information.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit these SQL injection flaws to extract sensitive database contents including user credentials, customer data, and potentially achieve full database compromise through time-based blind SQL injection techniques.

Affected Products

• Netartmedia PHP Mall version 4.1
• PHP Mall installations with vulnerable index.php endpoint
• PHP Mall installations with vulnerable loginaction.php endpoint

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-12 - CVE CVE-2019-25541 published to NVD
• 2026-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25541

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The PHP Mall e-commerce application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries, creating multiple attack surfaces for database manipulation.

The vulnerability affects two distinct entry points within the application. The first is the id parameter in index.php, which likely handles product or category lookups. The second is the Email parameter in loginaction.php, which processes user authentication requests. Both parameters accept attacker-controlled input that gets directly embedded into database queries without proper validation or parameterization.

Time-based blind SQL injection is particularly insidious because it allows data extraction even when the application does not directly display query results. Attackers can infer database contents by measuring response time differences when injecting conditional time delay functions.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the direct concatenation of user input into SQL query strings without proper sanitization, escaping, or the use of prepared statements with parameterized queries. The application developers failed to implement input validation on the id and Email parameters, allowing malicious SQL syntax to be interpreted as part of the database query rather than as data.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting either the index.php endpoint with a manipulated id parameter or the loginaction.php endpoint with a malicious Email parameter.

For time-based blind SQL injection, attackers typically inject conditional statements combined with time delay functions (such as SLEEP() in MySQL or WAITFOR DELAY in MSSQL). By observing response latency, attackers can extract database contents character by character. This technique allows complete database enumeration including table structures, user credentials, and sensitive customer information.

Technical details and proof-of-concept information are available through the Exploit-DB #46562 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25541

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query latency or delayed HTTP responses that may indicate time-based blind SQL injection attempts
• Web server logs containing SQL syntax characters in id or Email parameters (e.g., single quotes, SLEEP, WAITFOR, UNION, SELECT)
• Multiple rapid requests to index.php or loginaction.php with varying parameter values suggesting automated exploitation
• Database logs showing malformed or unexpected queries originating from the web application

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in request parameters
• Implement application-level logging to capture and alert on suspicious parameter values containing SQL keywords
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for time-based SQL injection signatures
• Enable database query logging and monitor for anomalous query patterns or execution times

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor HTTP request logs for index.php and loginaction.php endpoints, filtering for suspicious characters in the id and Email parameters
• Set up alerts for abnormally long database query execution times that may indicate successful time-based injection
• Track failed login attempts with malformed email addresses that contain SQL syntax
• Review database audit logs for unauthorized data access or extraction patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25541

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the affected PHP Mall application until patches or workarounds can be applied
• Implement WAF rules to block requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the id and Email parameters
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess potential data exposure
• Consider taking the application offline if it processes sensitive customer or payment data

Patch Information

No vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should consult the VulnCheck Advisory for the latest remediation guidance and contact Netartmedia directly regarding patch availability.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the web server level to reject requests with SQL metacharacters in vulnerable parameters
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection detection capabilities in front of the application
• Modify application code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions
• Apply network segmentation to limit database access from the web application tier
• Consider migrating to an actively maintained e-commerce platform if vendor support is unavailable

# Example WAF rule configuration (ModSecurity)
# Block SQL injection attempts on vulnerable parameters
SecRule ARGS:id "@detectSQLi" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'SQL Injection attempt on id parameter'"
SecRule ARGS:Email "@detectSQLi" "id:1002,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'SQL Injection attempt on Email parameter'"