CVE-2018-25424: SQL Injection in Gate Pass Management System 2.1 Allows Unauthenticated Access

Technical summary

CVE-2018-25424 is an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) in Gate Pass Management System 2.1 affecting the login-exec.php endpoint. The vulnerability exists because user-supplied input from the login and password POST parameters is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. An attacker can submit specially crafted SQL injection payloads—such as OR conditions that always evaluate to true, or UNION-based queries—to bypass authentication logic and obtain unauthorized access to the application without valid credentials. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 (HIGH) reflects the ease of exploitation (network-accessible, no authentication required, no user interaction needed) combined with the severity of the impact (confidentiality is highly compromised).

Business impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability results in unauthorized access to Gate Pass Management System and any sensitive data it stores or manages. Depending on the system's role in your organization, this could expose employee access records, visitor logs, building access history, or other security-sensitive information. An attacker gaining administrative or user access could also modify system data, disrupt operations, or use the compromised system as a pivot point for lateral movement within your network. The reputational and compliance implications are significant if customer or employee data is exposed.

Affected systems

Gate Pass Management System version 2.1 is explicitly affected. Organizations running this version should assume they are vulnerable. Earlier and later versions have not been confirmed as affected by this advisory; consult the vendor for version-specific status and verify your deployment version before concluding risk.

Exploitability

This vulnerability has a low exploitation barrier. It requires only network access to the login page and can be exploited with basic HTTP tools or custom scripts; no sophisticated exploit framework is necessary. The attacker needs no prior authentication or special user interaction. SQL injection payloads are well-documented and widely understood, making this trivial for even moderately skilled attackers to weaponize. The vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog, but that status does not diminish its severity or the likelihood of active exploitation by opportunistic actors scanning the internet for unpatched instances.

Remediation

Immediate patching is the primary remediation path. Contact the vendor for Gate Pass Management System to obtain a patched version that addresses the SQL injection vulnerability. In the interim, implement network-level access controls to restrict access to the login endpoint to trusted IP ranges, deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules, and consider taking the vulnerable system offline if it is not critical to operations. Enforce strong monitoring and alerting on login attempts and database query anomalies. After patching, conduct a security audit of the system and review access logs to determine if the system was previously compromised.

Patch guidance

Coordinate with your vendor to identify the available patched version for Gate Pass Management System. Apply the update in a controlled manner—test in a non-production environment first to ensure compatibility with your deployment and any custom integrations. Verify the patch is successfully installed by confirming the system version and running a validation test (attempt an SQL injection attack against the login endpoint to confirm it is blocked). Document the patch date and version for audit and compliance purposes.

Detection guidance

Monitor login-exec.php for POST requests containing SQL metacharacters or common SQL injection patterns in the login and password parameters, such as single quotes, double dashes, UNION keywords, or OR conditions. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules targeting SQL injection attacks. Review database query logs for unusual or malformed SQL statements originating from the application. Correlate failed login attempts followed by successful access with no corresponding valid authentication records. Search historical access logs and database audit trails for evidence of prior exploitation, paying special attention to timestamps around when the system was deployed or when access patterns changed unexpectedly.

Why prioritize this

This vulnerability should be prioritized as urgent because it enables unauthenticated access to a potentially sensitive application with minimal effort and no user interaction required. The HIGH CVSS score reflects the combination of easy exploitability and severe impact (high confidentiality loss). Although not yet in the KEV catalog, the simplicity of SQL injection exploitation means active scanning and exploitation by threat actors is likely. Organizations should treat this as a critical patch candidate and schedule remediation within days, not weeks.

Risk score, explained

The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 (HIGH) is driven by the following factors: Network vector (attackers need only reach the login page over the network), Low attack complexity (standard SQL injection techniques), No privilege required (unauthenticated access), No user interaction (the attacker performs the attack directly), Unchanged scope (the impact is confined to the affected system), High confidentiality impact (an attacker gains unauthorized read access to application data), and Low integrity and no availability impact (the vector shows I:L/A:N, indicating limited data modification risk but no denial-of-service capability). This score appropriately reflects a serious but not critical-infrastructure-threatening vulnerability.

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