# CVE-2018-16384: SQL injection in n/a

> Attackers can bypass SQL injection protections in ModSecurity Core Rule Set to execute arbitrary SQL statements, risking data exposure or modification.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Sep 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-16384, GHSA-8r55-w857-fcgj, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-16384

## What is CVE-2018-16384?

CVE-2018-16384 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 3 Sep 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A SQL injection bypass (aka PL1 bypass) exists in OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set (owasp-modsecurity-crs) through v3.1.0-rc3 via {`a`b} where a is a special function name (such as "if") and b is the SQL statement to be executed.

Weakness: CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16384?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Owasp Owasp Modsecurity Core Rule Set.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16384?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-16384 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16384 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2026-21876](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21876/): OWASP CRS has multipart bypass using multiple content-type parts (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-33691](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33691/): OWASP CRS: Whitespace padding in filenames bypasses file upload extension checks (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16384 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16384 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 3 Sep 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16384 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16384/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16384/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16384
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16384
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16384

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16384/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.