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Joomla\!Application · Joomla

CVE-2019-19846

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.9.14 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In Joomla! before 3.9.14, the lack of validation of configuration parameters used in SQL queries caused various SQL injection vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in Joomla! before 3.9.14 where configuration parameters are not validated before being used in SQL queries, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL code.

MitigationUpgrade Joomla! to version 3.9.14 or later to patch the SQL injection vectors. Review and test any third-party extensions for compatibility before applying the update.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Joomla\!Application
Affected:>= 2.5.0, <= 3.9.14

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate Joomla! installation directory
    Identify the web root directory where Joomla! is installed. Look for key Joomla! files like configuration.php or index.php in the web root.
    Affected if Unable to locate Joomla! installation files means the check cannot be completed.
  2. Determine installed Joomla! version from manifest
    Open the file /administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml (or the equivalent path within your Joomla! installation) and locate the <version> tag near the top of the XML file. This displays the installed Joomla! version.
    Affected if Version displayed is less than or equal to 3.9.14 (for example, 3.9.13, 3.9.12, 3.9.0, etc.) indicates the installation is within the affected version range.
  3. Confirm version from version.php
    Open /libraries/cms/version/version.php (or /libraries/src/Version.php in newer Joomla! installations) and locate the REVISION, DEV_LEVEL, or version number constants defined in the Version class.
    Affected if The version number found is 3.9.14 or lower confirms the affected version range.
  4. Verify configuration handling
    Review the Joomla! configuration.php file for custom parameters, particularly any that might be passed to database queries. The vulnerability exists when configuration values are used directly in SQL queries without proper validation.
    Affected if The site uses configuration parameters in custom SQL queries or has third-party extensions that may use configuration values in database operations.

Your Joomla! installation is affected if the installed version is 3.9.14 or any earlier version (2.5.0 through 3.9.13), since the SQL injection flaw exists in how configuration parameters are handled before being used in SQL queries.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.9.14
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Joomla! to version 3.9.14 or later to patch the SQL injection vectors. Review and test any third-party extensions for compatibility before applying the update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Joomla! 3.9.14 or later (preferably latest 3.x stable release)

  1. Back up the current Joomla! installation and database before proceeding with any updates
  2. Download Joomla! 3.9.14 or the latest stable 3.x release from the official Joomla! website (downloads.joomla.org)
  3. Extract the downloaded package and upload all files to the web server, overwriting the existing Joomla! core files
  4. Access the Joomla! administrator dashboard and navigate to Components > Joomla! Update to run any pending database migrations
  5. Verify the update was successful by checking the Joomla! version in System > System Information > Joomla! Version
  6. Test critical site functionality including user login, content management, and any custom extensions to ensure compatibility
Caveat Joomla! minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes, but test custom extensions and templates before deploying to production

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Joomla\! Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-19846 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data