CVE-2018-5981 in Gallery WD
Summary
by MITRE
SQL Injection exists in the Gallery WD 1.3.6 component for Joomla! via the tag_id parameter or gallery_id parameter.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-5981 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within the Gallery WD component version 1.3.6 for Joomla installation, potentially compromising the entire database infrastructure.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts malicious input for the tag_id or gallery_id parameters and submits it to the vulnerable Gallery WD component. This input bypasses the component's intended parameter validation processes and gets directly incorporated into SQL query strings without proper sanitization. The flaw falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection vulnerabilities where untrusted data is embedded into SQL commands without proper escaping or parameterization. This weakness enables attackers to manipulate database queries and potentially execute arbitrary SQL commands that can range from data retrieval to complete database compromise.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-5981 extends beyond simple data theft, as it provides attackers with significant privileges within the database environment. Successful exploitation can result in unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion of gallery content and associated metadata. Attackers may also leverage this vulnerability to escalate their privileges within the Joomla installations using the Gallery WD component version 1.3.6, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited across multiple websites without requiring specific knowledge of the target environment. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.005, which covers application layer protocol manipulation, specifically targeting web application vulnerabilities through SQL injection attacks.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement comprehensive mitigation strategies to protect their Joomla application, implementing input validation at multiple layers, and conducting thorough security audits of all installed Joomla! components and extensions. Database query logging should be enabled to detect any suspicious SQL activity that may indicate exploitation attempts, and regular security assessments should be performed to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components that may present similar attack vectors.