CVE-2018-25400: Unauthenticated SQL Injection in Open ISES Project 3.30A

Technical summary

CVE-2018-25400 is an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) located in the ajax/form_post.php endpoint of Open ISES Project 3.30A. The 'id' parameter fails to properly sanitize or parameterize user input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This permits attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands via GET requests, potentially leading to unauthorized database enumeration and data extraction. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 (HIGH) reflects the high confidentiality impact, low integrity impact, and network-accessible attack surface with no authentication required.

Business impact

A successful exploitation could expose sensitive database contents, including schema information, user records, or business-critical data depending on database permissions and content. This exposure could lead to regulatory compliance violations (GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, etc.), reputational harm, and potential follow-on attacks leveraging exposed credentials or system details. Organizations running Open ISES Project 3.30A in production face immediate risk of unauthorized data disclosure.

Affected systems

Open ISES Project version 3.30A is affected. Organizations should inventory all instances of this application in their environment, including development, testing, and production deployments. Any system exposing the ajax/form_post.php endpoint to untrusted networks is at risk.

Exploitability

This vulnerability has a low barrier to exploitation. No authentication is required, the attack vector is network-based, and the attack complexity is low—a simple HTTP GET request with a SQL payload is sufficient. Exploitation does not require user interaction. However, the vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, meaning active exploitation in the wild has not been formally documented as of the intelligence publication date.

Remediation

Upgrade Open ISES Project to a patched version released after this vulnerability was disclosed. If an immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement network-level controls such as Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious SQL injection patterns in the 'id' parameter, restrict access to the ajax/form_post.php endpoint to trusted networks only, and apply input validation rules at the application layer. Verify the specific patched version against the vendor's official security advisory.

Patch guidance

Contact the Open ISES Project maintainers or consult their official security advisories for the recommended patched version. Apply patches promptly in a tested environment before deploying to production. Given the high severity and ease of exploitation, patching should be prioritized in your change management process.

Detection guidance

Monitor HTTP access logs for GET requests to ajax/form_post.php containing SQL keywords (SELECT, UNION, DROP, INSERT, OR, AND, etc.) in the 'id' parameter or other URL-encoded equivalents. Implement Web Application Firewall rules to detect and block SQL injection payloads. Review database query logs for unusual or repeated failed queries, which may indicate reconnaissance. Correlation of these signals with external scanning or vulnerability scanner activity may indicate active reconnaissance.

Why prioritize this

This vulnerability merits immediate remediation priority due to the combination of high CVSS score (8.2), complete lack of authentication requirement, network-accessible attack surface, and low exploitation complexity. The confidentiality impact is high, meaning sensitive data exposure is the primary risk. Organizations should treat this as urgent unless the affected application is air-gapped or not internet-facing.

Risk score, explained

The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 reflects a network-accessible vulnerability requiring no credentials or user interaction, resulting in high confidentiality impact. The score is tempered slightly because integrity and availability impacts are limited—the attacker can read data but cannot easily modify or disrupt service. In contexts where the database contains highly sensitive information (PII, financial data, secrets), the real-world risk may be perceived as even higher than the base CVSS suggests.

Frequently asked questions