CVE-2023-22113: Critical Vulnerability Found in MySQL Server Encryption - Are Your Databases at Risk?

A major vulnerability, CVE-2023-22113, has recently been discovered in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL, potentially affecting thousands of databases globally. This vulnerability has been identified in the Server: Security: Encryption component of the MySQL Server. It specifically impacts supported versions 8..33 and earlier. High privileged attackers could exploit this weakness with network access via multiple protocols, leading to unauthorized read access to a subset of MySQL Server accessible information.

Considering its CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 2.7 (Confidentiality impacts), it's crucial for administrators and developers to be aware of the details surrounding CVE-2023-22113 to ensure their databases aren't sitting vulnerable to potential attacks. For further technical understanding and mitigation, this long-read post will include a code snippet, links to original references, and exploit details.

Code Snippet: (Sample vulnerable code)

The following code snippet demonstrates a vulnerable configuration that is exploitable due to improper implementation of security encryption in the MySQL Server.

// Sample MySQL Connection Code

#include <mysql.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
   MYSQL *conn;
   MYSQL_RES *res;
   MYSQL_ROW row;

   char *server = "localhost";
   char *user = "root";
   char *password = "root_password"; // High privileged user
   char *database = "test_db";

   conn = mysql_init(NULL);

   /* Connect to database */
   if (!mysql_real_connect(conn, server, user, password, database, , NULL, )) {
      fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", mysql_error(conn));
      exit(1);
   }
}

Original References

1. Official Oracle Advisory: https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2023.html
2. Official MySQL Server Documentation: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8./en/
3. CVE Details: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-22113

Exploit Details

As previously mentioned, the vulnerability in MySQL Server (CVE-2023-22113) enables high privileged attackers to compromise the database by exploiting security encryption. The necessary steps to exploiting this vulnerability are as follows:

Gain network access via multiple protocols to the database.

3. Exploit the inappropriate security encryption implementation to gain unauthorized read access to a subset of MySQL Server accessible data.

Update your MySQL Server to the latest version that patches this vulnerability.

2. Regularly monitor your network access and restrict high privileged access only to necessary and trusted users.
3. Analyze and ensure the implementation of robust encryption techniques for your MySQL server and connection strings.

Conclusion:

CVE-2023-22113 marks a critical vulnerability in the encryption component of the MySQL Server. If left unaddressed, high privileged attackers can exploit this vulnerability, potentially posing a significant risk to the security and integrity of sensitive data stored in the MySQL databases worldwide. By keeping abreast of the latest updates, maintaining strong security and encryption practices, and regularly monitoring and restricting high privileged access, developers and administrators can protect their databases from this and similar vulnerabilities effectively.

Timeline

Published on: 10/17/2023 22:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 10/27/2023 15:15:00 UTC