CVE-2021-47801: Vianeos OctoPUS 5 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2021-47801 Overview

Vianeos OctoPUS 5 contains a time-based blind SQL injection vulnerability in the login_user parameter during authentication requests. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious POST requests with specially constructed SQL payloads that trigger database sleep functions to extract information. This type of SQL injection allows attackers to infer database contents by observing response time delays, making it particularly dangerous for authentication endpoints.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database information, potentially including user credentials, session tokens, and other confidential data stored in the backend database.

Affected Products

• Vianeos OctoPUS 5

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-16 - CVE CVE-2021-47801 published to NVD
• 2026-01-16 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2021-47801

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The flaw exists in the authentication mechanism of Vianeos OctoPUS 5, specifically within the handling of the login_user parameter during POST requests to the login endpoint.

Time-based blind SQL injection represents a particularly stealthy attack vector because it does not rely on error messages or visible output differences. Instead, attackers craft payloads that conditionally execute database sleep functions (such as SLEEP() in MySQL or WAITFOR DELAY in SQL Server) to determine whether injected conditions evaluate to true or false.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability combined with the lack of authentication requirements significantly increases the risk profile. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive database contents, including user credentials and potentially administrative access.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and sanitization of the login_user parameter before it is incorporated into SQL queries. The application fails to properly parameterize user input, allowing malicious SQL syntax to be interpreted as part of the database query rather than as literal string data.

When user-supplied input is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper escaping or the use of prepared statements, attackers can manipulate the query structure to execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker sends a crafted POST request to the authentication endpoint with a malicious login_user parameter value containing time-based SQL injection payloads.

The exploitation technique involves injecting SQL statements that cause conditional delays in database response times. By measuring whether the server response is delayed, an attacker can extract database information bit-by-bit. For example, an attacker might inject a payload that causes a 5-second delay if the first character of an administrator's password is 'a', allowing them to systematically enumerate sensitive data.

Additional technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the Exploit-DB #50078 entry and the Vulncheck Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2021-47801

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual response time patterns on authentication endpoints, particularly requests taking significantly longer than normal (e.g., 5+ seconds)
• POST requests to login endpoints containing SQL keywords such as SLEEP, WAITFOR, BENCHMARK, or pg_sleep
• Repeated authentication attempts from the same source with incrementally modified login_user parameter values
• Database query logs showing execution of sleep or delay functions during authentication

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewalls (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules specifically monitoring the login_user parameter
• Implement application-level logging to capture and analyze all authentication request parameters
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on SQL injection patterns in HTTP POST bodies
• Monitor database query execution times and alert on anomalous delays during authentication transactions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the Vianeos OctoPUS application to capture all authentication attempts with full parameter data
• Set up response time monitoring on authentication endpoints to detect time-based exploitation attempts
• Review database logs regularly for unexpected SLEEP(), WAITFOR DELAY, or similar function executions
• Implement rate limiting on authentication endpoints to slow down automated extraction attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2021-47801

Immediate Actions Required

• Place a web application firewall (WAF) in front of the Vianeos OctoPUS application with SQL injection detection enabled
• Restrict network access to the application to trusted IP ranges where possible
• Implement enhanced monitoring on authentication endpoints to detect exploitation attempts
• Review and rotate any credentials that may have been exposed through the database

Patch Information

Organizations should consult with Vianeos directly for official patch availability. Visit the Vianeos product page or contact the vendor for the latest security updates addressing this SQL injection vulnerability.

For detailed vulnerability information, refer to the Vulncheck Advisory for Vianeos.

Workarounds

• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection filtering rules to sanitize the login_user parameter before it reaches the application
• Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the OctoPUS application to only authorized internal networks
• Configure database user permissions to use least-privilege principles, limiting the potential impact of successful SQL injection
• Enable prepared statement logging on the database server to identify and investigate suspicious queries

# Example WAF rule configuration (ModSecurity format)
# Block common time-based SQL injection patterns in login parameters
SecRule ARGS:login_user "@rx (?i)(sleep|waitfor|benchmark|pg_sleep)" \
    "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in login_user'"