CVE-2019-25523

8.2

Xooscripts · XooGallery

XooGallery contains an SQL injection vulnerability in the cat.php file, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary database queries via the cat_id parameter.

Executive summary

An unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability in XooGallery allows remote attackers to compromise database integrity and extract sensitive information.

Vulnerability

This is an SQL Injection (CWE-89) flaw where the application fails to properly sanitize user input in the cat_id parameter of cat.php. An unauthenticated attacker can supply malicious SQL payloads via GET requests to manipulate database queries.

Business impact

The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 8.2, reflecting a high severity risk. Successful exploitation grants an attacker the ability to bypass authentication, exfiltrate private user data, or modify database records, which could lead to severe reputational damage, loss of intellectual property, and a total compromise of the application data layer.

Remediation

Immediate Action: As there is no official patch available for this legacy software, administrators should immediately restrict access to the application or migrate to a supported alternative.

Proactive Monitoring: Security teams should monitor web server access logs for suspicious GET requests containing SQL syntax such as UNION, SELECT, or comment characters in the cat_id, gal_id, or photo_id parameters.

Compensating Controls: Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with strict SQL injection filtering rules to block malicious payloads targeting the vulnerable PHP scripts.

Exploitation status

Public Exploit Available: Yes, a published proof of concept exists via ExploitDB (EDB-ID: 46609).

Analyst recommendation

Given the lack of vendor-supplied patches and the availability of functional exploit code, XooGallery poses a significant security risk to any exposed environment. Organizations should prioritize the immediate removal or isolation of the affected software from the internet to prevent unauthorized database access.

Sources

Originally found and disclosed by Ahmet Ümit BAYRAM, per the CVE Program record.