CVE-2016-1154 in EC-CUBE
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in the Help plug-in 1.3.5 and earlier in Cuore EC-CUBE allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/06/2018
The CVE-2016-1154 vulnerability represents a critical SQL injection flaw within the Help plug-in version 1.3.5 and earlier of the Cuore EC-CUBE e-commerce platform. This vulnerability resides in the core database interaction mechanisms of the Help plugin, which is designed to provide administrative assistance and documentation features within the EC-CUBE system. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate database queries through unspecified input vectors, potentially enabling full database compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive customer and business data. The vulnerability affects organizations using outdated versions of the EC-CUBE platform, particularly those running the Help plugin in their administrative interfaces.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through improper input validation and sanitization within the Help plugin's database query construction process. When users interact with the Help plugin functionality, the system fails to adequately escape or parameterize user-supplied inputs before incorporating them into SQL statements. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL code that executes with the privileges of the database user account associated with the EC-CUBE application. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple input points within the plugin could be exploited, including form fields, URL parameters, or API endpoints that handle help-related queries. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-89 SQL Injection, which is categorized under the broader weakness of insufficient input validation and inadequate query parameterization.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1154 extends far beyond simple data theft, as successful exploitation can lead to complete system compromise and persistent access to organizational networks. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to extract customer databases, manipulate transaction records, modify product information, and potentially escalate privileges to gain administrative control over the entire e-commerce platform. The vulnerability also poses significant risk to business continuity and regulatory compliance, as it could result in data breaches affecting thousands of customer records. Organizations may face substantial financial penalties under data protection regulations such as gdpr, pci dss, and other compliance frameworks that mandate robust database security controls. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the Help plugin is often accessible to administrative users, potentially allowing attackers to gain elevated privileges and execute further attacks within the network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1154 require immediate action to address the root cause through proper input validation and parameterized query implementation. Organizations must upgrade to the latest version of the EC-CUBE platform that includes patched Help plugin functionality, as the vulnerability was resolved in subsequent releases through proper input sanitization and query parameterization. Security teams should implement comprehensive input validation measures including whitelisting of acceptable characters, proper escaping of special SQL characters, and adoption of prepared statements or parameterized queries for all database interactions. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of vulnerable administrative interfaces, while regular security assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other plugins or components. Additionally, organizations should implement web application firewalls and database activity monitoring solutions to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application, with potential techniques including T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol HTTP and T1046 Network Service Scanning for initial reconnaissance and exploitation phases.