CVE-2024-2264: PHP-MYSQL Login System SQL Vulnerability

CVE-2024-2264 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in keerti1924 PHP-MYSQL-User-Login-System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /login.php file where the email parameter is improperly sanitized, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw enables unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms, extract sensitive database information, and potentially compromise the entire application.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication, access or modify sensitive data, and potentially gain full control over the underlying database and application.

Affected Products

• keerti1924 PHP-MYSQL-User-Login-System version 1.0
• PHP/MySQL-based user authentication systems using vulnerable code patterns

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-07 - CVE-2024-2264 published to NVD
• 2025-03-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2264

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) affects the login functionality of the PHP-MYSQL-User-Login-System application. The vulnerable endpoint /login.php accepts user-supplied input through the email parameter without proper sanitization or parameterization. When user input is directly concatenated into SQL queries, attackers can craft malicious input strings that alter the intended query logic.

The attack surface is accessible over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making exploitation straightforward for remote attackers. Successful exploitation can lead to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the database contents, including user credentials and sensitive application data.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to implement proper input validation and parameterized queries in the authentication mechanism. The email parameter from user input is directly incorporated into SQL statements without adequate sanitization, escaping, or the use of prepared statements. This classic SQL injection pattern occurs when developers construct SQL queries through string concatenation rather than using secure database APIs.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the /login.php endpoint. An attacker manipulates the email parameter with SQL injection payloads to:

1. Bypass authentication by modifying the login query logic
2. Extract database contents using UNION-based or blind SQL injection techniques
3. Modify or delete database records
4. Potentially execute administrative database operations depending on database permissions

The exploit has been publicly disclosed and is available for reference, increasing the risk of active exploitation. The attack requires no prior authentication or user interaction, making it highly accessible to malicious actors.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2264

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL syntax patterns in HTTP request logs, particularly in the email parameter to /login.php
• Failed login attempts containing special characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or SQL keywords
• Database error messages exposed in application responses indicating query manipulation
• Unexpected database queries or access patterns in database audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web application firewall (WAF) logs for SQL injection signatures targeting authentication endpoints
• Implement input validation alerts for parameters containing SQL metacharacters
• Review application logs for authentication bypass patterns or unusual successful logins
• Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions to detect SQL injection attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the /login.php endpoint and monitor for anomalous input patterns
• Configure database query logging to detect unauthorized data extraction attempts
• Set up alerts for multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful access
• Monitor for unusual database activity such as bulk data reads or schema enumeration queries

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2264

Immediate Actions Required

• If using keerti1924 PHP-MYSQL-User-Login-System 1.0, immediately restrict access to the /login.php endpoint or take the application offline
• Implement a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules as a temporary measure
• Audit database access logs for signs of prior exploitation
• Consider replacing the vulnerable authentication system with a secure, actively maintained alternative

Patch Information

No official patch has been released by the vendor. According to the vulnerability disclosure notes, the vendor was contacted but did not respond. Organizations using this software should consider migrating to a secure authentication solution or implementing manual code fixes to use prepared statements and parameterized queries.

For technical details and proof-of-concept information, refer to the GitHub PoC Repository and VulDB #256034.

Workarounds

• Replace direct SQL query construction with prepared statements using PDO or MySQLi with parameter binding
• Implement server-side input validation to reject email inputs containing SQL metacharacters
• Deploy a WAF configured with SQL injection detection rules in front of the application
• Restrict database user permissions to minimum required privileges to limit exploitation impact
• Consider implementing additional authentication controls such as CAPTCHA or rate limiting

# Example PHP fix using prepared statements (manual code modification required)
# Replace vulnerable code in login.php with parameterized queries:
# 
# $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?");
# $stmt->execute([$email]);
# 
# This prevents SQL injection by separating query structure from user data