CVE-2022-45329: AeroCMS v..1 - SQL Injection Vulnerability in the Search Parameter

Critical security vulnerability (CVE-2022-45329) has been identified in AeroCMS v..1, an open-source Content Management System (CMS). The vulnerability stems from a SQL Injection flaw within the 'Search' parameter, exposing sensitive database information to attackers. In this post, we delve deeper into the exploitation details, code snippets, and references associated with this vulnerability.

Background

SQL Injection (SQLi) is a type of attack in which an attacker can inject malicious SQL queries or statements into user input fields, tricking the system into executing them. When successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows an attacker to manipulate, steal or even delete sensitive data stored in the application's database. In AeroCMS v..1, the 'Search' parameter is vulnerable to such an attack.

Exploit Details

The SQL Injection vulnerability in AeroCMS v..1 can be exploited by submitting crafted input via the 'Search' parameter. Attackers can inject malicious queries to access and manipulate sensitive information stored in the database. The following example illustrates a possible payload:

search=' UNION SELECT * FROM users--

This malicious input attempts to retrieve data from the 'user' table within the database, potentially exposing sensitive information such as usernames and passwords.

Code Snippet

The vulnerable component resides in the search functionality, where user input is not properly sanitized or validated before being passed to SQL queries. The vulnerability arises from the following code snippet in the search.php file:

$search = $_GET['search'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM articles WHERE title LIKE '%$search%' OR content LIKE '%$search%'";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

As seen in the code, the user input is directly included in the SQL query without any sanitization or validation, making it susceptible to SQL Injection attacks.

Mitigation

To prevent this SQL Injection vulnerability, user input should be adequately sanitized and validated before being used in SQL queries. The use of prepared statements is highly recommended as it can bind user input parameters, reducing the risk of SQL Injections.

Example of a prepared statement in PHP

$stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM articles WHERE title LIKE ? OR content LIKE ?");
$search_param = "%$search%";
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $search_param, $search_param);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

This approach ensures that user input is treated as a separate entity, making it difficult for an attacker to inject malicious SQL queries.

For more details on this vulnerability and its discovery, please refer to the following resources

1. CVE-2022-45329 - CVE-MITRE
2. CVE-2022-45329 - National Vulnerability Database (NVD)

Conclusion

CVE-2022-45329 demonstrates the potential impact of insecure handling of user input in web applications. Developers and administrators of AeroCMS v..1 should promptly apply the recommended mitigation techniques to protect their systems from SQL Injection attacks. Users are encouraged to update their software to more recent versions that have addressed security vulnerabilities.

Timeline

Published on: 11/29/2022 05:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/30/2022 04:58:00 UTC