CVE-2005-3509 in Jportal Web Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in JPortal allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via (1) banner.php or the id parameter to (2) print.php, (3) comment.php, and (4) news.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-3509 represents a critical security flaw in JPortal, a content management system that was widely used in web environments during the mid-2000s. This vulnerability manifests as multiple SQL injection flaws that collectively allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the underlying database system. The attack vector specifically targets four distinct PHP scripts within the JPortal application: banner.php, print.php, comment.php, and news.php, all of which accept user-supplied input through different parameter names including the id parameter. These vulnerabilities fall under the category of CWE-89 SQL Injection as defined by the Common Weakness Enumeration, which classifies the flaw as a direct injection of SQL commands through improperly sanitized input. The operational impact of these vulnerabilities is severe as they provide attackers with direct access to the database backend, potentially enabling full compromise of the application's data repository. Attackers can exploit these flaws to extract sensitive information, modify database records, delete content, or even escalate privileges within the database system. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects core functionality scripts that are commonly accessed by users, making exploitation relatively straightforward and increasing the attack surface. From an attack framework perspective, these vulnerabilities align with ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications and T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage. The attack chain typically begins with reconnaissance to identify the vulnerable scripts, followed by crafting malicious SQL payloads that bypass input validation mechanisms. The exploitation process allows attackers to manipulate database queries through the banner.php, print.php, comment.php, and news.php endpoints, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization and parameter validation within the JPortal codebase, where user-provided data is directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper escaping or parameterization. This design flaw violates fundamental secure coding practices and demonstrates a lack of proper database access controls and input validation measures. Organizations using JPortal during this time period faced significant risk exposure, as the vulnerabilities could be exploited without requiring authentication or advanced technical skills. The remediation approach for these vulnerabilities involves implementing proper input validation, using parameterized queries, and ensuring all user-supplied data is properly escaped before being incorporated into database operations. Additionally, regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar patterns that may exist in other application components. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of keeping web applications updated with the latest security patches, as many of these issues were addressed in subsequent versions of the software. Security professionals should consider implementing web application firewalls and database activity monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, particularly given the widespread nature of this vulnerability across multiple script endpoints. The attack surface expansion through multiple vulnerable scripts increases the probability of successful exploitation and emphasizes the need for comprehensive security measures rather than isolated fixes to individual components.