CVE-2024-0247: Online Food Ordering System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-0247 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in CodeAstro Online Food Ordering System version 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the Admin Panel login functionality within the /admin/ endpoint, where improper sanitization of the Username parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially allowing complete database compromise, unauthorized administrative access, and data theft.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability enables unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication, extract sensitive database contents including customer information and credentials, modify or delete data, and potentially achieve complete system compromise through database-level command execution.

Affected Products

• CodeAstro Online Food Ordering System 1.0
• oretnom23 online_food_ordering_system

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-01-05 - CVE-2024-0247 published to NVD
• 2026-03-30 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-0247

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), commonly known as SQL Injection. The flaw resides in the Admin Panel authentication mechanism where user-supplied input in the Username field is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization.

When an attacker submits a crafted payload in the Username field, the application fails to validate or escape special SQL characters. This allows the attacker to manipulate the underlying SQL query structure, potentially bypassing authentication controls entirely or extracting arbitrary data from the database. The network-accessible nature of the vulnerability combined with no required authentication or user interaction makes this an easily exploitable attack vector.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of input validation and the use of dynamic SQL query construction in the Admin Panel authentication logic. Instead of using parameterized queries or prepared statements, the application directly concatenates user-supplied input into SQL statements. This fundamental coding flaw allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is executed remotely over the network by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the /admin/ endpoint. An attacker manipulates the Username parameter in the login form to inject SQL payloads. Common exploitation techniques include:

• Authentication bypass using payloads like ' OR '1'='1 to modify the WHERE clause logic
• Union-based SQL injection to extract data from other database tables
• Time-based blind SQL injection to enumerate database contents when direct output is not visible
• Stacked queries (if supported by the database driver) to execute additional SQL statements including data modification or deletion commands

The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed with exploit details available through external documentation, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0247

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual login attempts to the /admin/ endpoint with SQL syntax characters in username fields (single quotes, double dashes, semicolons)
• Database query errors appearing in application logs indicating SQL syntax issues
• Unexpected database queries or data exfiltration attempts in database audit logs
• Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful admin access from unknown IP addresses

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in request parameters
• Monitor application logs for authentication anomalies, particularly requests containing SQL metacharacters
• Deploy database activity monitoring to alert on unusual query patterns or bulk data access
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) with SQL injection signatures targeting the /admin/ endpoint

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the web server for all requests to administrative endpoints
• Configure database audit logging to track all queries, especially those from the web application service account
• Set up alerting for any SQL errors or exceptions generated by the admin authentication module
• Monitor for unusual data access patterns that may indicate post-exploitation data harvesting

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0247

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the /admin/ endpoint using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Implement additional authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication for admin access
• Review database permissions to ensure the application uses a least-privilege database account

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability at the time of writing. Organizations using CodeAstro Online Food Ordering System 1.0 should contact the vendor (oretnom23) for remediation guidance or consider migrating to an alternative solution. Technical details regarding this vulnerability are available through VulDB #249778 and supporting documentation on Google Drive.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation on the application server to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters in username fields
• Use a reverse proxy or WAF to filter malicious payloads before they reach the application
• Disable or remove the admin panel from internet-facing deployments until a patch is available
• Apply network segmentation to isolate the vulnerable application from critical systems and sensitive data

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection attempts on admin endpoint
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /admin/" "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked',chain"
SecRule ARGS:Username "@rx (?i)(\b(select|union|insert|update|delete|drop|alter|create|truncate)\b|--|;|')" "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"