Weakness (CWE)
CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command
The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.
How to prevent it (8 mitigations)
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Architecture and Design
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid [REF-1482].
For example, consider using persistence layers such as Hibernate or Enterprise Java Beans, which can provide significant protection against SQL injection if used properly.
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Architecture and Design
If available, use structured mechanisms that automatically enforce the separation between data and code. These mechanisms may be able to provide the relevant quoting, encoding, and validation automatically, instead of relying on the developer to provide this capability at every point where output is generated.
Process SQL queries using prepared statements, parameterized queries, or stored procedures. These features should accept parameters or variables and support strong typing. Do not dynamically construct and execute query strings within these features using "exec" or similar functionality, since this may re-introduce the possibility of SQL injection. [REF-867]
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Architecture and Design, Operation
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks [REF-76]. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
Specifically, follow the principle of least privilege when creating user accounts to a SQL database. The database users should only have the minimum privileges necessary to use their account. If the requirements of the system indicate that a user can read and modify their own data, then limit their privileges so they cannot read/write others' data. Use the strictest permissions possible on all database objects, such as execute-only for stored procedures.
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Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
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Implementation
While it is risky to use dynamically-generated query strings, code, or commands that mix control and data together, sometimes it may be unavoidable. Properly quote arguments and escape any special characters within those arguments. The most conservative approach is to escape or filter all characters that do not pass an extremely strict allowlist (such as everything that is not alphanumeric or white space). If some special characters are still needed, such as white space, wrap each argument in quotes after the escaping/filtering step. Be careful of argument injection (CWE-88).
Instead of building a new implementation, such features may be available in the database or programming language. For example, the Oracle DBMS_ASSERT package can check or enforce that parameters have certain properties that make them less vulnerable to SQL injection. For MySQL, the mysql_real_escape_string() API function is available in both C and PHP.
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Implementation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue."
Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
When constructing SQL query strings, use stringent allowlists that limit the character set based on the expected value of the parameter in the request. This will indirectly limit the scope of an attack, but this technique is less important than proper output encoding and escaping.
Note that proper output encoding, escaping, and quoting is the most effective solution for preventing SQL injection, although input validation may provide some defense-in-depth. This is because it effectively limits what will appear in output. Input validation will not always prevent SQL injection, especially if you are required to support free-form text fields that could contain arbitrary characters. For example, the name "O'Reilly" would likely pass the validation step, since it is a common last name in the English language. However, it cannot be directly inserted into the database because it contains the "'" apostrophe character, which would need to be escaped or otherwise handled. In this case, stripping the apostrophe might reduce the risk of SQL injection, but it would produce incorrect behavior because the wrong name would be recorded.
When feasible, it may be safest to disallow meta-characters entirely, instead of escaping them. This will provide some defense in depth. After the data is entered into the database, later processes may neglect to escape meta-characters before use, and you may not have control over those processes.
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Architecture and Design
When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
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Implementation
Ensure that error messages only contain minimal details that are useful to the intended audience and no one else. The messages need to strike the balance between being too cryptic (which can confuse users) or being too detailed (which may reveal more than intended). The messages should not reveal the methods that were used to determine the error. Attackers can use detailed information to refine or optimize their original attack, thereby increasing their chances of success.
If errors must be captured in some detail, record them in log messages, but consider what could occur if the log messages can be viewed by attackers. Highly sensitive information such as passwords should never be saved to log files.
Avoid inconsistent messaging that might accidentally tip off an attacker about internal state, such as whether a user account exists or not.
In the context of SQL Injection, error messages revealing the structure of a SQL query can help attackers tailor successful attack strings.
Source: MITRE CWE-89
2,586 results · Clear filters · Feed
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Critical 9.8
Miantang IoT-PHP - Unauthenticated SQL Injection in /userlogin
Miantang/IoT-PHP's index.php implements a POST /userlogin route that reads the password directly from ['pwd'] with no sanitization and concatenates it into a raw SQL string: mysql_query("select * from userlists where username='' and password='' limit 1"). An …
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Critical 9.8
IOTSmartHome - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via lastLogin Cookie
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Critical 9.8
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Critical 9.1
Ajax Load More < 8.0.1 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via custom_args
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Critical 10.0
Adobe Campaign Classic (ACC) | Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') (CWE-89)
Adobe Campaign Classic (ACC) is affected by an Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. An attacker could exploit this …
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Critical 9.9
Adobe Campaign Classic (ACC) | Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') (CWE-89)
Adobe Campaign Classic (ACC) is affected by an Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. A low-privileged attacker could…
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Critical 9.8
Sequelize: SQL Injection (Oracle DB)
Sequelize is a Node.js ORM tool. Prior to 6.37.4, SQL injection is possible with strings only if dialect is set to oracle. The escape function defined in sql-string.js does not escape quotes if the value starts with TO_TIMESTAMP or TO_DATE. In the Oracle dial…
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Critical 10.0CVE-2026-69085 Scanner template
SiYuan before v3.7.3 SQL Injection via searchDocs
SiYuan before v3.7.3 contains a SQL injection vulnerability in the /api/filetree/searchDocs endpoint, where the caller-supplied keyword parameter is concatenated directly into SQL statements with no escaping or parameter binding. The endpoint is reachable by …
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Critical 10.0
SiYuan before v3.7.3 SQL Injection via searchEmbedBlock
SiYuan versions <= v3.7.2 expose the /api/search/searchEmbedBlock endpoint, which passes a client-supplied SQL statement verbatim to the main read-write siyuan.db handle with no single-statement, read-only, or admin restrictions. The endpoint is gated only by…
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Critical 10.0CVE-2026-69083 Public exploit
SiYuan before v3.7.3 SQL Injection via fullTextSearchAssetContent
SiYuan versions before v3.7.3 contain SQL injection vulnerabilities in the fullTextSearchAssetContent endpoint reachable by unauthenticated users and publish RoleReader tokens. Attackers can execute arbitrary SQL on the read-write asset-content database via u…
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Critical 9.1
Super Store Finder < 7.11 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via ssf_tracking
The Super Store Finder WordPress plugin before 7.11 does not sanitize a parameter of an unauthenticated AJAX action before using it in a SQL query, allowing unauthenticated attackers to perform SQL injection and extract data from the database.
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Critical 9.1
Link Library < 7.9.3 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via the Front-End Link Submission Form
The Link Library WordPress plugin before 7.9.3 does not properly sanitise and escape a user-supplied value before using it in a SQL query, allowing unauthenticated users to perform SQL injection attacks.
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Critical 9.8
SQL injection vulnerability in Fastadmin v.1.6.1.20250430 allows an attacker to exectue arbitrary code via the applicat…
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Critical 9.8CVE-2026-65321 Public exploit
PyAthena SQL Injection via DefaultParameterFormatter DELETE/CTAS
PyAthena prior to 3.35.4 contains a sql injection vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary SQL by exploiting improper quote-escaping in DefaultParameterFormatter.format(), which routes DELETE and CTAS statements to the _escape_h…
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Critical 9.1
Participants Database < 2.7.8.4 - Unauthenticated SQL Injection via List Search
The Participants Database WordPress plugin before 2.7.8.4 does not properly sanitize and escape a user-supplied parameter before using it in a SQL query, allowing unauthenticated attackers to perform SQL injection attacks.
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Critical 9.4CVE-2026-58048 Public exploit
Improper preservation of SQL mode when renaming databases in cPanel allows execution of SQL in root context.
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Critical 9.0
pgAdmin 4: AI Assistant read-only transaction bypass via sqlparse/PostgreSQL lexer disagreement (incomplete fix for CVE-2026-12045)
The fix for CVE-2026-12045 in pgAdmin 4 9.16 required the LLM-supplied query passed to the AI Assistant's execute_sql_query tool to parse, via sqlparse, as exactly one non-transaction-control statement before running it inside a BEGIN TRANSACTION READ ONLY wr…
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Critical 9.3
Unauthenticated SQL Injection in PHP Jabbers - Car Rental Script script
A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in PHP Jabbers - Car Rental Script . Improper neutralization of input provided by user into parameters responsible for sorting functions allows an unauthenticated attacker to perform SQL Injection attacks. Thi…
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Critical 9.4
CodeIgniter: SQL injection is possible via Query Builder deleteBatch() when used with where() conditions
CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework. From 4.3.0 through 4.7.3, Query Builder deleteBatch() substitutes bound values from where() conditions into generated SQL while ignoring their escape flags, allowing user-controlled condition values to be interpr…
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Critical 9.8
SourceCodester Modern Loan Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in ajaxData.php via the parameters dist…
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Critical 9.8
SourceCodester Modern Loan Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /admin/delete_group.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
SQLi in UMAI Vision's Traffic Analysis System
Improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command ('SQL injection') vulnerability in UMAI Vision Traffic Analysis System allows SQL Injection. This issue affects Traffic Analysis System: from 30 before 34.
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Critical 9.9
Improper neutralization in the Plesk XML-RPC API allows a remote authenticated low-privileged user to perform SQL injec…
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in the edit_type.php endpoint via the Paramet…
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerale to SQL Injection in the report.php and revenue_report.php via t…
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /print_membership_card.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /delete_members.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
SourceCodester Tailor Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in addmeasurement.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in renew.php via the parameter membershipType.
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /memberProfile.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /delete_membership.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
SourceCodester Tailor Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in customeredit.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
CodeAstro Membership Management System 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /edit_member.php?id=1.
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Critical 9.8
Ecommerce-project-with-php-and-mysqli-Fruits-Bazar 1.0 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in /show_price_by_pdtId.php.
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Critical 9.2
Joomla Extension - balbooa.com - Unauthenticated SQL injection in Gridbox < 2.20.2
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Critical 9.9
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Critical 9.9
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A SQL injection and unsafe deserialisation vulnerability in Koollab LMS allowed an authenticated attacker to inject through the assessment overall answer endpoint, control data passed to unserialize(), write a webshell to a publicly accessible location, and e…
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Critical 9.9
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A SQL injection and unsafe deserialisation vulnerability in Koollab LMS allowed an authenticated attacker to inject through the assessment reinforcement endpoint, control data passed to unserialize(), write a webshell to a publicly accessible location, and ex…
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Critical 9.1
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Critical 9.1
Pre-authentication blind SQL injection vulnerability
A pre-authentication blind SQL injection vulnerability in Koollab LMS allowed an unauthenticated attacker to use a time-based SQL oracle via the SSO OAuth endpoint to read sensitive database contents, including personally identifiable information, credentials…