Overview
CVE-2024-44641 identifies a medium-severity SQL Injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Small CRM version 3.0. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor to inject arbitrary SQL code through the oldpass parameter in the change-password.php script. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized data access, modification, or even complete database compromise.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides within the change-password.php script. Specifically, the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input passed via the oldpass parameter before using it in an SQL query. An attacker can inject malicious SQL code into this parameter, allowing them to bypass authentication or manipulate database records. The vulnerable code likely uses the oldpass variable directly in a query without proper escaping or prepared statements. The injection point is typically located where the application checks the existing password against the stored hash.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigns this vulnerability a score of 6.5, classifying it as MEDIUM severity. The CVSS vector provides a more detailed breakdown:
- CVSS Score: 6.5
- Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
- Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
- Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
- User Interaction: None (UI:N)
- Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
- Confidentiality Impact: Low (C:L)
- Integrity Impact: Low (I:L)
- Availability Impact: Low (A:L)
This score indicates that the vulnerability is remotely exploitable with low complexity, requiring no privileges or user interaction. While the confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact are rated as low, the potential for exploitation makes this a significant security concern.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of this SQL Injection vulnerability could have several severe consequences:
- Data Breach: Attackers could gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer data, including personal information, contact details, and financial records.
- Account Takeover: Attackers could bypass authentication mechanisms and take control of legitimate user accounts, including administrative accounts.
- Data Manipulation: Attackers could modify or delete critical data within the CRM database, leading to data corruption and loss of business functionality.
- Service Disruption: In severe cases, attackers could compromise the database server, leading to a complete service outage.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2024-44641, the following steps are recommended:
- Apply the Patch: Check for a security patch released by PHPGurukul for Small CRM 3.0. Apply the patch immediately after thorough testing in a non-production environment.
- Input Validation: Implement robust input validation on the
oldpassparameter inchange-password.php. Sanitize all user-supplied input to prevent SQL Injection attacks. - Prepared Statements: Replace dynamically constructed SQL queries with parameterized queries (prepared statements). This prevents SQL Injection by treating user input as data rather than executable code.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to detect and block malicious requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint. Configure the WAF with rules to identify and prevent SQL Injection attempts.
- Least Privilege Principle: Ensure that the database user account used by the application has only the necessary privileges to perform its required operations. Avoid granting excessive permissions to the database user.
- Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities in the application.
