The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has recently recorded a new critical vulnerability affecting the MonetDB Server - an open-source columnar database management system. The vulnerability, labeled as CVE-2023-36365, affects versions 11.45.17 and 11.46. of the software, potentially allowing attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) attack via carefully designed SQL statements. In this detailed analysis, we will go over the problem's root cause, how the exploit functions, the affected code snippet, and the available resources for remediation.

Root Cause

The vulnerability affects the 'sql_trans_copy_key' component, which is part of the MonetDB Server code responsible for the transactional processing of SQL statements. The issue lies in the improper handling of certain crafted SQL statements, enabling attackers to trigger a memory corruption bug that results in a Denial of Service (DoS).

Exploiting the Vulnerability

The attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting SQL statements that contain a specific set of parameters and values, causing the affected server to crash. To better illustrate the exploited code snippet, consider the following example:

CREATE TABLE items (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100),
    category VARCHAR(50)
);

INSERT INTO items (id, name, category) VALUES (1, 'Item A', 'Category 1');
INSERT INTO items (id, name, category) VALUES (2, 'Item B', 'Category 1');
INSERT INTO items (id, name, category) VALUES (3, 'Item C', 'Category 2');

-- The crafted SQL statement exploiting the vulnerability
SELECT * FROM items WHERE category = "\

python

This character sequence within the WHERE clause is capable of triggering the memory corruption bug

";

In this illustrative example (crafted SQL statement is simplified for the sake of understandability), the problematic character sequence inside the WHERE clause can cause the MonetDB Server to terminate abnormally, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) scenario.

Here are the original references and details of the vulnerability

1. CVE Listing: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-36365
2. MonetDB Bug Report: https://www.monetdb.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=1111

To mitigate this vulnerability, it is crucial to update the affected MonetDB Server to a version that contains the necessary fixes. MonetDB has released a patch addressing this issue, which can be found in the following latest versions:

1. MonetDB v11.45.18: https://www.monetdb.org/downloads/old/MonetDB-11.45.18.tar.xz
2. MonetDB v11.46.1: https://www.monetdb.org/downloads/old/MonetDB-11.46.1.tar.xz

Please ensure to update your MonetDB Server instances as soon as possible to avoid the CVE-2023-36365 vulnerability and maintain secure database management.

Conclusion

The newly discovered CVE-2023-36365 vulnerability highlights the importance of continuously securing and maintaining our database systems. The swift patch release by MonetDB ensures that system administrators can safeguard their servers against potential Denial of Service (DoS) attacks brought about by this vulnerability. Keeping your MonetDB Server updated and staying informed about relevant CVEs will help maintain the highest level of security for your data and online systems.

Timeline

Published on: 06/22/2023 14:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 06/28/2023 19:02:00 UTC