CVE-2024-2269: Online Bookstore Website SQL Injection

CVE-2024-2269 Overview

CVE-2024-2269 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability discovered in keerti1924 Online-Book-Store-Website version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /search.php file, where the search parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive database information, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability without authentication to extract sensitive data, modify database records, or potentially achieve remote code execution depending on the database configuration.

Affected Products

• keerti1924 Online-Book-Store-Website version 1.0
• Applications utilizing the vulnerable /search.php endpoint

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-07 - CVE-2024-2269 published to NVD
• 2025-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2269

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands. The /search.php file accepts user input through the search parameter and directly incorporates it into database queries without adequate sanitization or parameterization. This allows attackers to break out of the intended query structure and execute arbitrary SQL commands against the backend database.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it requires no authentication or special privileges to exploit. An attacker can remotely submit crafted requests to the search functionality, making this a high-impact vulnerability for any deployment of this application.

Root Cause

The root cause is the failure to implement parameterized queries or prepared statements when handling user-supplied input in the search functionality. The application directly concatenates user input into SQL query strings, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL syntax that gets executed by the database engine.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted remotely over the network. An attacker sends specially crafted HTTP requests to the /search.php endpoint with malicious SQL payloads in the search parameter. The vulnerability requires no user interaction or authentication, making it trivially exploitable by any attacker with network access to the application.

The exploitation typically involves techniques such as UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to infer database contents, or time-based blind injection when direct output is not available. Depending on database permissions and configuration, attackers may also be able to read or write files on the server or execute operating system commands.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2269

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL syntax appearing in web server access logs for /search.php
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed queries
• Unexpected database queries containing UNION, SELECT, or other SQL keywords in the search parameter
• High volume of requests to /search.php with encoded or obfuscated payloads

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in HTTP parameters
• Monitor application logs for database errors or exceptions triggered by malformed input
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection payloads
• Conduct regular security scans using automated vulnerability scanners targeting SQL injection

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the /search.php endpoint including full request parameters
• Set up alerts for database query errors or unusual query execution times
• Monitor for unauthorized data access patterns or bulk data extraction from the database
• Review access logs for requests containing typical SQL injection test strings like single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2269

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable or restrict access to the /search.php functionality until a patch is applied
• Implement input validation to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Review database user permissions to ensure the application uses least-privilege access

Patch Information

No official patch is currently available from the vendor. According to the vulnerability disclosure, the vendor was contacted but did not respond. Organizations using this software should implement the workarounds described below or consider migrating to a maintained alternative. For additional technical details, refer to the VulDB advisory and the GitHub PoC documentation.

Workarounds

• Implement parameterized queries or prepared statements in the /search.php file to prevent SQL injection
• Add server-side input validation to sanitize the search parameter before processing
• Use a WAF to filter malicious requests before they reach the application
• Restrict database user permissions to read-only access where possible
• Consider disabling the search functionality entirely if it is not critical to operations

# Example WAF rule to block common SQL injection patterns
# ModSecurity rule for Apache/Nginx
SecRule ARGS "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    block,\
    msg:'SQL Injection Attack Detected',\
    logdata:'Matched Data: %{MATCHED_VAR}',\
    severity:'CRITICAL'"