CVE-2024-52301 - Critical Laravel Vulnerability Allows Environment Manipulation via Special Crafted Query String

Laravel is a widely used web application framework written in PHP and known for its clean and elegant syntax, making it ideal for web developers around the world. However, recent research has identified a critical security flaw, dubbed CVE-2024-52301, that could potentially lead to unauthorized access and unintended information exposure.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability exists when the register_argc_argv PHP directive is set to on, which allows users to call any URL with a specially crafted query string to change the environment used by the framework for handling the request. By taking advantage of this vulnerability, attackers can potentially expose environment variables and sensitive information, ultimately leading to unauthorized access and data breaches.

The vulnerability has now been fixed in Laravel versions 6.20.45, 7.30.7, 8.83.28, 9.52.17, 10.48.23, and 11.31.. To mitigate the issue, the framework now ignores argv values for environment detection on non-CLI (Command Line Interface) server API (SAPI) implementations.

Here's a simple code snippet to demonstrate how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability

// Malicious query string example
http://www.example.com/?APP_ENV=dev&_method=PUT&-v=this_is_a_test_argument

// Accessing the vulnerable Laravel environment
$environment = $request->server('APP_ENV', 'production');

In this example, the attacker provides APP_ENV=dev and a fake command-line argument -v in the query string. Due to the improper handling of argv values, the environment used by Laravel is manipulated, causing unintended behavior and potential information exposure.

For more details, please refer to the official Laravel security advisory.

Impact and Exploitation

The potential impact of this vulnerability is quite significant, considering that environment variables often contain sensitive information, such as database credentials, API keys, and other private data. If left unchecked, attackers can exploit this vulnerability for unauthorized access, data breaches, and exfiltrating sensitive information.

It is therefore strongly recommended that Laravel users update their framework to one of the patched versions (i.e., Laravel 6.20.45, 7.30.7, 8.83.28, 9.52.17, 10.48.23, or 11.31.) to close this security loophole and protect against potential attacks.

Conclusion

To summarize, CVE-2024-52301 is a critical Laravel vulnerability that allows attackers to manipulate the framework's environment handling, potentially leading to unauthorized access and data breaches. To safeguard your web applications, ensure that you are running the latest patched version of Laravel and have the register_argc_argv PHP directive set to off whenever possible.

Stay vigilant and exercise caution when dealing with potentially unsafe query strings, as they can be more deceptive than they appear. By ensuring your Laravel applications are up-to-date and patched, you can maintain a secure and robust web development environment, minimizing the risks associated with this critical vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 11/12/2024 20:15:14 UTC
Last modified on: 11/13/2024 15:35:15 UTC