CVE-2023-2107: A critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in IBOS 4.5.5 - What you need to know and how to secure your system

A critical security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-2107, has been discovered in the popular content management system IBOS, specifically in version 4.5.5. This vulnerability poses a significant risk as it can lead to a SQL injection attack, potentially allowing an attacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, modify, or even delete crucial data. In this post, we will take a closer look at the details of this vulnerability, discuss the exploit that has been made public and provide guidance on how to secure your system against this threat.

The Vulnerability

IBOS 4.5.5 is affected by a SQL injection vulnerability in an unknown function within the file file/personal/del&op=recycle. The vulnerability is caused by improper handling and sanitization of the fids argument, which can be manipulated by an attacker to inject malicious SQL queries. This can be exploited remotely, requiring no special permissions or access.

The exploit, which has been disclosed publicly and is now available for use, is dangerous as it can potentially lead to unauthorized access to confidential data, defacement of the targeted website, or even complete system takeover.

Reference to the original vulnerability disclosure can be found here.

VDB-226110 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability by the vulnerability database.

Code Snippet

Below is an example of a simple proof of concept (PoC) code snippet that demonstrates the exploitation of the CVE-2023-2107 vulnerability:

GET /file/personal/del&op=recycle?fids=999999%27%20UNION%20ALL%20SELECT%20NULL,NULL,CONCAT(x69626f73,x3a,x3a,version())%20--%20test HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Accept: */*
Accept-Language: en
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.
Connection: keep-alive

This code snippet modifies the fids argument to include a malicious SQL injection payload, causing the targeted application to execute the injected SQL query. An attacker can customize the query further to extract, modify, or delete data from the affected system.

Securing Your System

To protect your system from this vulnerability, it is imperative to update your IBOS installation to the latest version available. Follow the steps below to update your system:

1. Create a full backup of your existing IBOS installation, including the database, to ensure you can recover quickly in case of any issues during the update process.
2. Visit the IBOS website or the IBM Security Bulletin for CVE-2023-2107 for detailed information about the vulnerabilities and available patches.
3. Apply the latest security patch for IBOS 4.5.5, following the official instructions provided by the vendor.
4. Verify that the security patch was applied successfully, and test your website to ensure that there are no issues or errors.
5. Monitor your system logs and traffic for any unusual activity or attempts to exploit the vulnerability.

Conclusion

CVE-2023-2107 is a critical vulnerability in the IBOS 4.5.5 content management system that can lead to a SQL injection attack. Although the exploit has been disclosed publicly and is now available for use, it is essential to keep your system up-to-date and apply all necessary security patches to mitigate the risk associated with this threat. Stay vigilant, constantly monitor your system for any signs of exploitation attempts, and keep your defenses strong.

Timeline

Published on: 04/15/2023 14:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 04/24/2023 20:04:00 UTC