CVE-2024-32640: MASA CMS SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2024-32640 Overview

CVE-2024-32640 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability affecting MASA CMS, an Enterprise Content Management platform built on open source technology. The vulnerability exists in the processAsyncObject method and can be exploited by unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries, ultimately leading to remote code execution on vulnerable systems.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive enterprise content.

Affected Products

• MASA CMS versions prior to 7.4.5
• MASA CMS versions prior to 7.3.12
• MASA CMS versions prior to 7.2.7

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-08-11 - CVE-2024-32640 published to NVD
• 2025-12-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-32640

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (SQL Injection), a severe weakness that occurs when user-controlled input is improperly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. In the case of CVE-2024-32640, the processAsyncObject method in MASA CMS fails to properly validate and sanitize input parameters before constructing database queries.

The attack can be launched over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for internet-facing MASA CMS installations. Successful exploitation grants attackers complete control over database operations, enabling data exfiltration, modification, or deletion, and can escalate to full remote code execution through database-specific features.

A proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available, and the vulnerability has an EPSS score of 93.628% with a 99.83 percentile ranking, indicating an extremely high probability of exploitation in the wild.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-32640 lies in inadequate input validation within the processAsyncObject method. User-supplied data is concatenated directly into SQL query strings without proper parameterization or escaping, allowing malicious SQL statements to be injected and executed by the database engine. This classic SQL injection pattern bypasses application-level security controls and grants direct database access to attackers.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable via the network attack vector. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests to the MASA CMS application containing malicious SQL payloads. These payloads are processed by the processAsyncObject method without adequate sanitization, allowing the injected SQL commands to be executed against the backend database.

The attack requires no authentication credentials and no user interaction, making it trivially exploitable for any attacker with network access to the vulnerable application. Once SQL injection is achieved, attackers can leverage database-specific functionality to escalate the attack to remote code execution.

The vulnerability mechanism targets the async object processing functionality in MASA CMS. Attackers craft malicious input that breaks out of the intended SQL query context, allowing arbitrary SQL commands to be appended or injected. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory and the ProjectDiscovery blog post which covers related SQL injection exploitation techniques.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-32640

Indicators of Compromise

• Anomalous SQL error messages in application or database logs indicating malformed queries
• Unusual database queries containing SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or EXEC in unexpected parameters
• HTTP requests to MASA CMS endpoints with encoded or obfuscated payloads in async object parameters
• Evidence of database enumeration activities such as schema or table discovery queries
• Unexpected outbound network connections from the database server

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests
• Implement database activity monitoring to identify anomalous query patterns and unauthorized data access
• Monitor application logs for SQL syntax errors or database connection failures that may indicate injection attempts
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for known CVE-2024-32640 exploitation patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the MASA CMS application and review logs regularly for suspicious activity
• Monitor database audit logs for queries originating from the web application that contain suspicious SQL constructs
• Set up alerts for mass data extraction queries or unusual SELECT statements against sensitive tables
• Track file system changes on the web server that may indicate successful code execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-32640

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade MASA CMS to versions 7.4.5, 7.3.12, or 7.2.7 immediately depending on your current version branch
• If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the MASA CMS application to trusted IP ranges only
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules as a temporary compensating control
• Audit database logs and application logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

The MASA CMS development team has released security patches addressing this vulnerability. Patched versions include 7.4.5, 7.3.12, and 7.2.7. The fixes implement proper input validation and parameterized queries in the processAsyncObject method.

Relevant commits:

• Commit 259fc60
• Commit 280489e
• Commit 3d6319b

For complete details, see the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-24rr-gwx3-jhqc.

Workarounds

• Place the MASA CMS application behind a reverse proxy with strict input filtering capabilities
• Implement network segmentation to isolate the CMS and database from other critical systems
• Disable or restrict access to async object processing functionality if not required for business operations
• Apply database user privilege restrictions to limit the potential impact of SQL injection attacks

# Example: Restrict database user privileges for MASA CMS
# Remove unnecessary privileges to limit SQL injection impact
REVOKE FILE ON *.* FROM 'masacms_user'@'localhost';
REVOKE EXECUTE ON *.* FROM 'masacms_user'@'localhost';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON masacms_db.* TO 'masacms_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;