Critical SQL Injection Flaw Discovered in PHPGurukul Online Shopping Portal 2.0 (CVE-2024-44663)

Overview

CVE-2024-44663 details a significant SQL Injection vulnerability found in PHPGurukul Online Shopping Portal version 2.0. This vulnerability resides within the search-result.php file and is triggered via the product parameter. An attacker can exploit this flaw to inject malicious SQL code, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, data modification, or even complete database compromise.

Technical Details

The vulnerability stems from improper sanitization of user-supplied input within the search-result.php script. The product parameter, intended to filter search results based on product name, is directly incorporated into a SQL query without adequate escaping or parameterization. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious payload that modifies the query’s behavior.

Example vulnerable code snippet (illustrative):

            
            $product = $_GET['product'];
            $query = "SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE '%" . $product . "%'";
            $result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
            
        

An attacker can inject SQL code by manipulating the product parameter. For example, the following payload:

            
            ' OR '1'='1
            
        

Would modify the query to:

            
            SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE '%' OR '1'='1'%'
            
        

This modified query effectively bypasses the intended filtering and returns all records in the products table.

CVSS Analysis

Due to the provided information, a CVSS score has not been determined for this vulnerability. The Severity is listed as N/A. However, given the potential for complete database compromise, this vulnerability should be considered HIGH severity until a formal CVSS score is assigned.

Factors influencing the severity are:

• **Attack Vector:** Network (Remote Exploitation)
• **Attack Complexity:** Low (Easy to Exploit)
• **Privileges Required:** None (No Authentication Needed)
• **User Interaction:** None (No User Interaction Required)
• **Scope:** Changed (Impacts Other Components)
• **Confidentiality Impact:** High (Sensitive Data Exposure)
• **Integrity Impact:** High (Data Modification)
• **Availability Impact:** High (Denial of Service Possible)

Possible Impact

Successful exploitation of this SQL Injection vulnerability could lead to several severe consequences:

• **Data Breach:** Unauthorized access and theft of sensitive customer data, including personal information, payment details, and order history.
• **Data Manipulation:** Modification or deletion of product information, user accounts, or other critical data within the database.
• **Account Takeover:** Gaining control of administrator accounts, granting the attacker full control over the online shopping portal.
• **Denial of Service (DoS):** Disrupting the normal operation of the website, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
• **Further Exploitation:** Using the compromised database server as a launching point for attacks on other systems within the network.

Mitigation or Patch Steps

To mitigate this vulnerability, the following steps are recommended:

1. **Upgrade:** Upgrade to a patched version of PHPGurukul Online Shopping Portal if available. Check the official PHPGurukul website for updates. If a patch is not available, proceed to the next steps.
2. **Input Validation:** Implement robust input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied data, especially the product parameter in search-result.php. Use a whitelist approach to only allow expected characters.
3. **Prepared Statements/Parameterized Queries:** Replace dynamic SQL queries with prepared statements or parameterized queries. This prevents SQL injection by treating user input as data rather than executable code.
4. **Web Application Firewall (WAF):** Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to detect and block SQL Injection attempts.
5. **Regular Security Audits:** Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities proactively.
6. **Least Privilege Principle:** Ensure that the database user account used by the application has the minimum necessary privileges.

Example of using prepared statements (illustrative):

            
            $product = $_GET['product'];
            $stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE ?");
            $product_like = "%" . $product . "%";
            $stmt->bind_param("s", $product_like);
            $stmt->execute();
            $result = $stmt->get_result();
            
        

References

• CVE-2024-44663 on GitHub
• PHPGurukul Online Shopping Portal Official Website