CVE-2026-25240
📋 TL;DR
This SQL injection vulnerability in PEAR's user::maintains() function allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands when role filters are provided as arrays. It affects all PEAR installations prior to version 1.33.0 that use the vulnerable function with array inputs.
💻 Affected Systems
- PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository)
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full database compromise including data exfiltration, modification, or deletion, and potential privilege escalation to execute system commands via database functions.
Likely Case
Unauthorized data access and potential data manipulation in the PEAR database, possibly exposing user information, package metadata, or authentication data.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper input validation and parameterized queries are already implemented elsewhere in the application.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to pass array parameters to the vulnerable function, which typically requires some level of application access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.33.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/pear/pearweb/security/advisories/GHSA-xw9g-5gr2-c44f
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update PEAR to version 1.33.0 or later using: pear upgrade pear
2. Verify the update completed successfully
3. Test application functionality that uses user::maintains() function
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Workaround
allImplement strict input validation for role filter parameters before passing to user::maintains()
Parameterized Query Implementation
allModify user::maintains() to use prepared statements with parameter binding instead of string interpolation
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns
- Restrict database user permissions to minimum required for application functionality
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check PEAR version using: pear version | grep 'PEAR Version'Check Version:
pear version | grep 'PEAR Version'Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 1.33.0 or higher using: pear version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual database queries from PEAR application
- SQL syntax errors in application logs
- Multiple failed login attempts or authorization checks
Network Indicators:
- Unusual database connection patterns from application servers
SIEM Query:
source="application.log" AND "user::maintains" AND ("SQL" OR "database error")