CVE-2019-25640: Inout Article Base CMS SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25640 Overview

Inout Article Base CMS contains SQL injection vulnerabilities that allow unauthenticated attackers to manipulate database queries through the p and u parameters. Attackers can inject SQL code using XOR-based payloads in GET requests to portalLogin.php to extract sensitive database information or cause denial of service through time-based attacks.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database contents, modify data, or cause service disruption without requiring any authentication credentials.

Affected Products

• Inout Article Base CMS (all versions prior to patch)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-24 - CVE CVE-2019-25640 published to NVD
• 2026-03-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25640

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the portalLogin.php endpoint of Inout Article Base CMS. The vulnerability allows remote unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious SQL statements through the p and u GET parameters. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries, enabling attackers to manipulate database operations.

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive database contents, data manipulation, and potential denial of service conditions through time-based blind SQL injection techniques.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the portalLogin.php script. The p and u parameters are directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or escaping, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploited through crafted GET requests to the portalLogin.php endpoint. Attackers utilize XOR-based SQL injection payloads within the p and u parameters to bypass basic input filtering and execute malicious SQL statements. The attack can be performed remotely over the network by any unauthenticated user who can reach the vulnerable endpoint.

Time-based blind SQL injection techniques can be employed to extract database information character by character, while error-based or UNION-based injection methods may allow for more rapid data exfiltration depending on the application's error handling configuration.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25640

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to portalLogin.php containing SQL syntax in the p or u parameters
• HTTP requests with XOR operators, UNION statements, or time-delay functions like SLEEP() or BENCHMARK()
• Database logs showing unusual query patterns or errors indicating SQL syntax manipulation
• Unexpected database access patterns or data exfiltration attempts

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in request parameters
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on requests containing common SQL injection keywords targeting portalLogin.php
• Enable detailed logging on web servers to capture all requests to authentication endpoints
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous patterns or syntax errors indicative of injection attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Set up real-time alerting for requests to portalLogin.php containing special characters or SQL keywords
• Monitor database performance for unusual spikes that may indicate time-based injection attacks
• Implement file integrity monitoring on web application files to detect unauthorized modifications
• Establish baseline network traffic patterns and alert on deviations that may indicate data exfiltration

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25640

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove or restrict access to portalLogin.php if not required for business operations
• Implement a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Apply IP-based access restrictions to limit exposure of the vulnerable endpoint
• Contact the vendor (InoutScripts) for information on available patches or updates

Patch Information

Organizations should check with the vendor at the InoutScripts Product Page for the latest security updates. Review the VulnCheck Advisory on SQL Injection for additional technical details and remediation guidance. The Exploit-DB #46593 entry provides information on the exploitation technique that should be addressed.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters in the p and u parameters
• Deploy a reverse proxy with request filtering capabilities to sanitize incoming requests
• Use prepared statements or parameterized queries if modifying the application code is possible
• Consider temporarily disabling the affected functionality until a permanent fix is available

# Example WAF rule to block SQL injection attempts (ModSecurity)
SecRule ARGS:p|ARGS:u "@rx (?i:(\bselect\b|\bunion\b|\bxor\b|\bsleep\b|\bbenchmark\b|--|/\*|\*/|;))" \
    "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Attempt Detected in portalLogin.php'"