CVE-2019-25688

Executive Summary

CVE-2019-25688 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in Kados R10 GreenBee, an industrial control or management system. The flaw resides in the menu_lev1 parameter, which is not sanitized before being used in database queries. An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted HTTP requests with malicious SQL payloads in this parameter to extract sensitive data (e.g., credentials, configuration) or modify database contents. No public exploit code or patch exists, making this a high-risk, unpatched vulnerability. The CVSS score is 0.0 due to incomplete NVD data, but based on the impact, the vector above reflects a realistic critical severity.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not in an NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package. It affects a proprietary industrial system (Kados R10 GreenBee). No supply chain implications are known.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component is the database.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Full database read access.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – Full database write access.
• Availability (A): High (H) – Potential to delete or corrupt data.

Threat Level: Critical. Unauthenticated remote SQL injection with no patch available.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the menu_lev1 parameter, likely used in a web interface or API endpoint of Kados R10 GreenBee. The application fails to validate or sanitize user input before constructing SQL queries. An attacker can inject SQL commands by appending a single quote (') or other SQL metacharacters to the parameter value.

Example vulnerable request:

GET /index.php?menu_lev1=1' OR '1'='1

This could return all records from a table, bypassing authentication or extracting data.

Potential attack flow:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter via fuzzing.
2. Use UNION-based SQL injection to extract database schema.
3. Dump user credentials, configuration data, or operational parameters.
4. Modify or delete records to disrupt operations.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable code (pseudo-PHP):

$menu_lev1 = $_GET['menu_lev1'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM menu WHERE id = $menu_lev1";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $query);

Patched code (parameterized query):

$menu_lev1 = $_GET['menu_lev1'];
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM menu WHERE id = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("i", $menu_lev1);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

No official patch exists from Kados. The above is a recommended fix.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Manual exploitation:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /index.php?menu_lev1=1).
2. Test for injection: ?menu_lev1=1' – look for SQL errors.
3. Extract database version: ?menu_lev1=1 UNION SELECT @@version,2,3--
4. Dump tables: ?menu_lev1=1 UNION SELECT table_name,2,3 FROM information_schema.tables--

Automated exploitation (sqlmap):

sqlmap -u "http://target/index.php?menu_lev1=1" --batch --dbs

Lab setup:

• Use a vulnerable instance of Kados R10 GreenBee (if available) or simulate with a PHP/MySQL application.
• Deploy in an isolated network segment.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor for SQL error messages in logs (e.g., You have an error in your SQL syntax).
• Alert on requests containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, OR, --) in the menu_lev1 parameter.
• Use WAF rules to block suspicious patterns.

Honeypot:

• Deploy a fake endpoint mimicking the vulnerable parameter to capture attacker payloads.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests with menu_lev1 parameter containing SQL metacharacters (', ", --, #, ;).
  • Outbound database connections from the web server to unexpected IPs.
• File IOCs:
  • Web server logs showing SQL error messages.
  • Temporary files created by sqlmap or similar tools.
• System IOCs:
  • Unusual database queries (e.g., UNION SELECT).
  • Modified or deleted database records.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2019_25688_SQLi_Detect {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting menu_lev1 parameter in Kados R10 GreenBee"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2019-25688"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = /menu_lev1=.*['\"]/ nocase
        $sqli2 = /menu_lev1=.*UNION/i
        $sqli3 = /menu_lev1=.*SELECT/i
        $sqli4 = /menu_lev1=.*OR/i
    condition:
        any of ($sqli*)
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt on Kados R10 GreenBee menu_lev1 Parameter
id: 8a3f7c2e-5d1b-4a9f-8c6e-2b1d3f4a5c6e
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts targeting the menu_lev1 parameter in Kados R10 GreenBee.
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_log
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'menu_lev1'
        cs-uri-query|contains|any:
            - "'"
            - '"'
            - 'UNION'
            - 'SELECT'
            - 'OR'
            - '--'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of special characters in parameter values (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2019-25688 SQL Injection Attempt on menu_lev1"; flow:to_server,established; content:"menu_lev1"; http_uri; pcre:"/menu_lev1=.*['\"]|menu_lev1=.*UNION|menu_lev1=.*SELECT|menu_lev1=.*OR/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate actions:

1. Isolate the Kados R10 GreenBee system from the internet and untrusted networks.
2. Apply input validation – whitelist allowed characters for menu_lev1 (e.g., only digits).
3. Use parameterized queries in the application code (see patched code above).
4. Deploy a WAF with rules to block SQL injection patterns.

Long-term:

• Contact Kados for an official patch or consider replacing the system.
• Conduct a full security audit of the application.
• Implement network segmentation and monitoring.

Valters IT – DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert.

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