CVE-2023-3854: Phpscriptpoint Bloodbank SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2023-3854 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in phpscriptpoint BloodBank version 1.1. The vulnerability exists in the /search endpoint's POST Parameter Handler, where insufficient input validation allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands through the country, city, and blood_group_id parameters. This flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate database queries, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data modification, or complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability without authentication to extract sensitive donor and patient information, modify blood bank records, or potentially gain complete control of the underlying database server.

Affected Products

• phpscriptpoint BloodBank 1.1
• phpscriptpoint BloodBank (all versions potentially affected)

Discovery Timeline

• July 23, 2023 - CVE-2023-3854 published to NVD
• November 21, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-3854

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the search functionality within phpscriptpoint BloodBank, a web application designed to manage blood donation and distribution operations. The vulnerable endpoint at /search accepts POST parameters that are directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands.

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can manipulate the country, city, or blood_group_id parameters to escape the intended SQL query context and execute malicious database commands. This could result in complete compromise of data confidentiality through unauthorized data extraction, integrity violations through data modification, and availability impact through data deletion or database corruption.

The vendor was contacted regarding this vulnerability but did not respond, leaving users without an official security patch. For additional technical details, refer to the VulDB advisory.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation in the POST Parameter Handler of the /search component. The application fails to sanitize user-supplied input from the country, city, and blood_group_id parameters before incorporating them into SQL queries. This allows special characters and SQL syntax to pass through unfiltered, enabling SQL injection attacks. The lack of parameterized queries or prepared statements leaves the application vulnerable to classic SQL injection techniques.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted remotely over the network by sending specially crafted POST requests to the /search endpoint. An attacker constructs malicious input containing SQL metacharacters and commands within the country, city, or blood_group_id parameters. When the application processes these parameters without proper sanitization, the injected SQL code is executed by the database server.

The vulnerability can be exploited through standard SQL injection techniques. An attacker would send a POST request to the /search endpoint with malicious payloads in the vulnerable parameters. For example, submitting SQL syntax designed to break out of the expected query structure and append additional commands allows the attacker to extract database contents, bypass authentication logic, or modify data. Common exploitation approaches include UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to infer database contents, and time-based blind injection when direct output is not visible.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-3854

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages appearing in application logs or responses from the /search endpoint
• Unexpected database queries containing SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1, or comment sequences (--, /**/) in the country, city, or blood_group_id parameters
• High volume of POST requests to the /search endpoint with varying parameter values
• Database activity logs showing unauthorized data access or anomalous query patterns

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in POST requests to the /search endpoint
• Implement application-level logging to capture all requests to the vulnerable endpoint with full parameter details
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous queries originating from the BloodBank application
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all POST requests to the /search endpoint
• Configure alerts for SQL error messages in application logs that may indicate injection attempts
• Monitor database server for unusual query execution times or resource consumption that could indicate exploitation
• Review web server access logs regularly for suspicious patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoint

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-3854

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /search endpoint using network-level controls or application firewall rules
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules in front of the BloodBank application
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains sensitive data until a secure alternative can be deployed
• Audit database logs for evidence of past exploitation attempts

Patch Information

No official patch has been released by the vendor. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond. Organizations using phpscriptpoint BloodBank 1.1 should consider replacing the application with a more actively maintained alternative or implementing robust compensating controls.

Workarounds

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) configured to block SQL injection patterns targeting the country, city, and blood_group_id parameters
• Implement input validation at the application or proxy level to whitelist only expected alphanumeric values for the vulnerable parameters
• Restrict network access to the BloodBank application to trusted IP addresses only
• If source code modification is possible, implement parameterized queries or prepared statements for all database operations

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection on vulnerable parameters
SecRule ARGS:country|ARGS:city|ARGS:blood_group_id "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked on BloodBank search parameters',\
    tag:'CVE-2023-3854'"