CVE-2019-25668: News Website Script SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25668 Overview

CVE-2019-25668 is a SQL Injection vulnerability affecting News Website Script version 2.0.5. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting malicious SQL code through the news ID parameter. Attackers can send crafted GET requests to index.php/show/news/ with SQL statements designed to extract sensitive database information, potentially leading to full database compromise.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can extract sensitive data from the database, including user credentials, personal information, and other confidential records stored in the application's database.

Affected Products

• News Website Script version 2.0.5

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-05 - CVE-2019-25668 published to NVD
• 2026-04-07 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25668

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the News Website Script application's news display functionality. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the news ID parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This lack of input validation allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands that are then executed by the database server with the application's privileges.

The vulnerability is accessible over the network without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous for internet-facing deployments. Successful exploitation can result in unauthorized access to the entire database contents, including sensitive user data and administrative credentials.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries in the application's database interaction layer. The news ID parameter from GET requests is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without sanitization or escaping, allowing malicious SQL syntax to be interpreted as executable commands by the database engine.

Attack Vector

The attack is executed via network-based GET requests to the index.php/show/news/ endpoint. An attacker crafts a malicious URL containing SQL injection payloads in the news ID parameter position. The vulnerable application processes this input without validation and passes it directly to the database query engine. Common exploitation techniques include UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to infer database contents, and time-based blind injection for scenarios where direct output is not visible.

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Exploit-DB #46456 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory on SQL Injection.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25668

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual GET requests to index.php/show/news/ containing SQL syntax such as UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1, or comment characters (--, /*)
• Database query logs showing malformed or unexpected queries originating from the news display function
• Web server access logs with URL-encoded SQL keywords in the news ID parameter position
• Unexpected database access patterns or queries accessing tables unrelated to news content

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in URL parameters
• Implement database activity monitoring to identify anomalous query patterns and unauthorized data access
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection techniques
• Enable verbose application and database logging to capture suspicious query activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for requests containing SQL metacharacters in the news ID parameter
• Set up alerts for database queries that access sensitive tables outside normal application workflow
• Track failed or malformed database queries that may indicate injection attempts
• Review authentication-related database table access from unauthenticated sessions

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25668

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict public access to the vulnerable index.php/show/news/ endpoint until a patch is applied
• Deploy WAF rules to filter SQL injection attempts targeting the news ID parameter
• Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure of the vulnerable application
• Review database permissions and apply principle of least privilege to the application's database user

Patch Information

No vendor patch information is currently available in the CVE data. Users should contact PHP Scripts Mall for the latest security updates and patching guidance. Consider upgrading to a newer version of the software if available.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application level to accept only numeric values for the news ID parameter
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection detection rules in front of the application
• Disable or remove the vulnerable news display functionality until proper fixes are implemented
• Consider migrating to a more actively maintained content management solution if patches are not forthcoming

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection in news parameter
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /show/news/" "id:100001,phase:1,deny,status:403,chain"
SecRule ARGS "@detectSQLi" "log,msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked in news parameter'"