CVE-2018-18075
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2018-18075 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in WikidForum 2.20 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via multiple parameters. This affects all users running the vulnerable version, potentially leading to complete database compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- WikidForum
📦 What is this software?
Wikidforum by Wikidforum Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including data theft, data manipulation, privilege escalation, and potential remote code execution via database functions.
Likely Case
Unauthenticated attackers extracting sensitive user data, modifying forum content, or gaining administrative access to the application.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and parameterized queries preventing SQL injection.
🎯 Exploit Status
Multiple public exploit scripts exist, making this easily exploitable by attackers with basic skills.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 2.21 or later
Vendor Advisory: Not available - WikidForum appears to be abandoned software
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your database and application files. 2. Download the latest version from the official repository. 3. Replace vulnerable files with patched versions. 4. Test functionality to ensure no breakage.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd server-side validation to filter SQL injection patterns in the vulnerable parameters
Modify rpc.php and index.php to sanitize parent_post_id, num_records, and select_sort parameters
Web Application Firewall Rules
allImplement WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoints
Add WAF rules to block SQL keywords in GET/POST parameters for rpc.php and index.php?action=search
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and parameterized queries in the vulnerable PHP files
- Restrict access to the vulnerable endpoints using IP whitelisting or authentication requirements
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test the vulnerable parameters with SQL injection payloads: rpc.php?parent_post_id=1' OR '1'='1 or index.php?action=search&select_sort=1' OR '1'='1Check Version:
Check the WikidForum version in the application footer or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Attempt the same SQL injection tests after patching - they should return error messages or fail gracefully instead of executing SQL📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL error messages in web server logs
- Multiple failed login attempts or parameter manipulation in access logs
- Requests containing SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, INSERT in parameters
Network Indicators:
- Unusual database connections from web server
- Large data transfers from database to unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri="*rpc.php*" OR uri="*index.php*action=search*") AND (param="*parent_post_id*" OR param="*num_records*" OR param="*select_sort*") AND (content="*' OR*" OR content="*UNION*" OR content="*SELECT*" OR content="*INSERT*")