CVE-2024-2272: Online Bookstore Website SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-2272 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in keerti1924 Online-Book-Store-Website version 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the /home.php file within the HTTP POST Request Handler component. The flaw allows remote attackers to perform SQL injection attacks by manipulating the product_name parameter, potentially leading to complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the database, potentially leading to data theft, data manipulation, and complete system compromise.

Affected Products

• keerti1924 Online Bookstore Website version 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-08 - CVE-2024-2272 published to NVD
• 2025-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2272

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is a blind SQL injection flaw residing in the /home.php file of the Online-Book-Store-Website application. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the product_name parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements that are executed by the database backend.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, and the vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond. This lack of vendor response means no official patch is available, leaving deployments of this application vulnerable to exploitation.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the lack of parameterized queries (prepared statements) when handling the product_name parameter in HTTP POST requests. The application directly concatenates user-supplied input into SQL queries without proper sanitization or escaping, enabling SQL injection attacks.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker sends a specially crafted HTTP POST request to /home.php with a malicious payload in the product_name parameter. Since this is a blind SQL injection, the attacker may not receive direct output from the database but can infer information through time-based or boolean-based techniques.

The vulnerability allows attackers to:

• Extract sensitive data from the database including user credentials
• Modify or delete database records
• Potentially escalate to full system compromise depending on database configuration

Technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the GitHub PoC Repository and VulDB advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2272

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP POST requests to /home.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords in the product_name parameter
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unexpected database query patterns or abnormal query execution times suggesting time-based SQL injection attempts
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database access in database audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP POST requests targeting /home.php
• Monitor application logs for suspicious input patterns containing SQL keywords or special characters in the product_name field
• Enable database query logging and alert on queries containing unusual syntax or unexpected execution patterns
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for any HTTP POST requests to /home.php containing known SQL injection payloads
• Establish baseline database query patterns and alert on deviations that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Monitor for multiple rapid requests to /home.php which may indicate automated SQL injection tools being used
• Review database authentication logs for unauthorized access attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2272

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove or disable the vulnerable Online-Book-Store-Website application from production environments until a patch is available
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to filter SQL injection attempts targeting the product_name parameter
• Restrict network access to the application to trusted IP addresses only
• Apply input validation at the network edge to block requests containing SQL injection patterns

Patch Information

No official patch is currently available from the vendor. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond. Users of this application should consider migrating to an alternative solution or implementing comprehensive security controls to mitigate the risk.

For more information, refer to the VulDB advisory.

Workarounds

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules in front of the application
• Implement server-side input validation to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters in the product_name parameter
• Use database user accounts with minimal privileges to limit the impact of successful exploitation
• Consider taking the application offline until a secure alternative can be implemented

# Example WAF rule concept for ModSecurity
# Block SQL injection patterns in product_name parameter
SecRule ARGS:product_name "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    block,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in product_name',\
    log,\
    tag:'CVE-2024-2272'"