CVE-2025-8264: SQL Injection Vulnerability in Z-Push IMAP Backend

Overview

In this blog post, we will discuss a critical vulnerability noted as CVE-2025-8264 that affects versions of the Z-Push package prior to 2.7.6. This vulnerability exposes systems to the risk of SQL Injection attacks, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. Specifically, this vulnerability is present in the IMAP backend of the Z-Push package, where unparameterized queries leave room for malicious manipulation by attackers. It’s important to note that this vulnerability only affects Z-Push installations that utilize the IMAP backend and have the IMAP_FROM_SQL_QUERY option configured.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-8264
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.0)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Z-Push | Before 2.7.6

How the Exploit Works

The SQL Injection vulnerability in Z-Push stems from the use of unparameterized queries in the IMAP backend. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the username field in basic authentication to inject malicious SQL commands. This allows the attacker to access and potentially alter or delete sensitive data from a linked third-party database.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability using a manipulated username field in basic authentication:

GET /z-push/index.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Authorization: Basic dXNlcm5hbWU=' OR '1'='1'; DROP TABLE users; --:password

In the above example, the value for the username, when decoded, injects an SQL command to delete the ‘users’ table from the database. This is a simplistic example but highlights the potential severity of the vulnerability.

Mitigation and Conclusion

To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to either apply the vendor patch or use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary measure. Specifically, users can change the configuration to use the default or LDAP in backend/imap/config.php:

define('IMAP_DEFAULTFROM', '');

or

define('IMAP_DEFAULTFROM', 'ldap');

This vulnerability emphasizes the importance of parameterizing SQL queries to prevent SQL Injection attacks. Always ensure that your systems are updated with the latest patches and security configurations to protect against such vulnerabilities.