CVE-2024-0735: Online Tours & Travels SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-0735 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Online Tours & Travels Management System version 1.0. This vulnerability affects the exec function within the file admin/operations/expense.php, where improper input handling allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially gain unauthorized access to the underlying system through database-level command execution.

Affected Products

• Mayurik Online Tours & Travels Management System 1.0
• SourceCodester Online Tours & Travels Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-01-19 - CVE-2024-0735 published to NVD
• 2024-11-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-0735

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the administrative expense management functionality of the application. The exec function in admin/operations/expense.php fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows an attacker to manipulate the query structure by injecting arbitrary SQL commands.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it resides in an administrative function, meaning successful exploitation could provide attackers with access to sensitive financial and operational data. Additionally, the exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation attempts.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries or prepared statements in the expense.php file. User-controlled input is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without proper sanitization or escaping, creating a classic SQL injection attack surface. The application fails to implement fundamental secure coding practices such as input validation, output encoding, and use of an ORM or prepared statement framework.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests targeting the admin/operations/expense.php endpoint, injecting SQL payloads into vulnerable parameters processed by the exec function.

The attack involves sending specially crafted input that breaks out of the intended SQL query context and injects additional SQL commands. This could include UNION-based attacks to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to enumerate database contents, or time-based blind injection techniques. In some database configurations, this could potentially escalate to OS command execution through database-specific functions.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0735

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to admin/operations/expense.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, semicolons, UNION statements, or comment markers (--, /*)
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries or syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries accessing multiple tables or containing UNION, SLEEP, or BENCHMARK functions
• Evidence of data exfiltration through unusual outbound connections or increased database response sizes

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns targeting the expense management endpoint
• Enable detailed logging on the web server and database to capture suspicious query patterns and failed SQL execution attempts
• Implement application-level monitoring to detect anomalous parameter values containing SQL meta-characters
• Use database activity monitoring (DAM) solutions to identify unusual query patterns or unauthorized data access attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor access logs for repeated requests to admin/operations/expense.php with encoded or obfuscated payloads
• Alert on database errors related to SQL syntax violations originating from the affected application
• Track database user permissions and query execution to identify privilege escalation attempts
• Implement rate limiting on administrative endpoints to slow down automated exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0735

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the administrative interface (/admin/) using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements
• Implement a web application firewall with SQL injection detection rules in front of the application
• Consider temporarily disabling the expense management functionality until a patch is applied
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess potential data compromise

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations using this software should monitor the vendor's website and security advisories for updates. Given the critical severity and public exploit availability, immediate application of compensating controls is essential.

For additional technical details and vulnerability information, refer to the VulDB advisory and the CSDN blog post documenting this issue.

Workarounds

• Implement parameterized queries or prepared statements in the admin/operations/expense.php file if source code modifications are possible
• Deploy input validation filters to reject requests containing SQL meta-characters in expense-related parameters
• Use a reverse proxy or WAF to filter malicious input before it reaches the vulnerable application
• Restrict database user permissions to minimum required privileges, preventing DROP, CREATE, or system command execution

# Example WAF rule configuration (ModSecurity)
# Block common SQL injection patterns on expense endpoint
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /admin/operations/expense.php" \
    "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
    chain"
SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|;|--)" \
    "t:urlDecodeUni,t:htmlEntityDecode,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked on expense.php'"