CVE-2024-2271: Online Bookstore Website SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-2271 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in the keerti1924 Online-Book-Store-Website version 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the HTTP POST Request Handler component, specifically within the /shop.php file. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the product_name parameter to perform SQL injection attacks, potentially leading to unauthorized database access, data exfiltration, and complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to the underlying database, extract sensitive data, modify database contents, and potentially achieve complete system compromise without any authentication.

Affected Products

• keerti1924 Online-Book-Store-Website version 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-08 - CVE-2024-2271 published to NVD
• 2025-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2271

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as a Blind SQL Injection (CWE-89) affecting the e-commerce functionality of the Online-Book-Store-Website application. The vulnerability resides in the /shop.php endpoint, which processes HTTP POST requests containing product information. Due to insufficient input sanitization, user-supplied data in the product_name parameter is concatenated directly into SQL queries without proper parameterization or escaping.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed and documented, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as threat actors can easily leverage existing proof-of-concept code. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way, leaving affected installations without an official patch.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the lack of parameterized queries or prepared statements in the /shop.php file. The application directly incorporates user-supplied input from the product_name POST parameter into SQL queries without sanitization, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL code that gets executed against the backend database.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft a malicious HTTP POST request to the /shop.php endpoint with a specially crafted product_name parameter containing SQL injection payloads. Since this is a blind SQL injection vulnerability, the attacker may not receive direct query results but can infer database information through time-based or boolean-based techniques.

The attack flow involves sending POST requests to the vulnerable endpoint with payloads designed to extract data through conditional responses or deliberate time delays. This allows attackers to enumerate database structure, extract sensitive user data including credentials, and potentially escalate to full database compromise.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2271

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP POST requests to /shop.php with malformed or suspicious product_name parameter values
• SQL injection payloads in web server access logs, including common patterns like single quotes, UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or time-based payloads like SLEEP() or BENCHMARK()
• Abnormal database query execution times indicating time-based blind SQL injection attempts
• Unexpected database errors or increased database CPU usage

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in POST parameters
• Implement database activity monitoring to alert on suspicious queries, especially those with conditional logic or time-delay functions
• Configure application logging to capture all parameters submitted to /shop.php for forensic analysis
• Utilize SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect exploitation attempts and post-exploitation activities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the web server and database server to capture all requests and queries
• Set up alerts for repeated failed or anomalous requests to the /shop.php endpoint
• Monitor for data exfiltration patterns that may indicate successful exploitation
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect unusual outbound connections from the web server

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2271

Immediate Actions Required

• Take the affected Online-Book-Store-Website application offline or restrict access until remediation is complete
• Implement input validation and parameterized queries in the /shop.php file to properly handle the product_name parameter
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess potential data breach

Patch Information

No official patch has been released by the vendor. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way. Organizations using this software should implement manual code fixes or consider migrating to a supported and secure alternative. Technical details are available through the VulDB advisory and the GitHub PoC Repository.

Workarounds

• Replace dynamic SQL query construction with parameterized queries or prepared statements in all database interactions
• Implement strict input validation to whitelist acceptable characters for the product_name parameter
• Apply the principle of least privilege to database accounts used by the web application
• Consider using an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) framework that inherently prevents SQL injection

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection attempts
SecRule ARGS:product_name "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in product_name parameter',\
    tag:'CVE-2024-2271'"