CVE-2024-4931: Simple Online Bidding System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-4931 Overview

CVE-2024-4931 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Simple Online Bidding System 1.0, developed by oretnom23. The flaw resides in the /simple-online-bidding-system/admin/index.php?page=view_udet endpoint, where the id parameter is passed directly to a database query without sanitization. An authenticated remote attacker can manipulate the id argument to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and is tracked under VulDB identifier VDB-264467. The weakness is classified under [CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command].

Critical Impact

Remote attackers with low privileges can extract, modify, or delete database contents through SQL injection against the administrative view_udet page.

Affected Products

• Oretnom23 Simple Online Bidding System 1.0
• CPE: cpe:2.3:a:oretnom23:simple_online_bidding_system:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• Component: oretnom23:simple_online_bidding_system

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-05-16 - CVE-2024-4931 published to NVD
• 2024-12-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-4931

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from unsanitized handling of the id HTTP GET parameter in the administrative view at /simple-online-bidding-system/admin/index.php?page=view_udet. The application concatenates user-supplied input directly into a SQL query string. Attackers can append SQL syntax to extract user records, dump administrative credentials, or alter bidding data.

Exploitation requires network access to the admin interface and a low-privilege authenticated session. The attack does not require user interaction. Because the injection sits in the administrative area, successful exploitation grants the attacker query-level access to the underlying database backing the bidding system.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements in a SQL command [CWE-89]. The view_udet handler accepts the id parameter and builds a SQL statement without prepared statements or parameterized queries. Standard defenses such as input type validation, escaping, or PDO bound parameters are absent. Any character sequence including single quotes, comments, or UNION clauses passes through to the database driver intact.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based over HTTP. An attacker sends a crafted GET request to index.php?page=view_udet&id=<payload> against the admin endpoint. Typical payloads include boolean-based, error-based, time-based, and UNION-based SQL injection patterns. Refer to the public proof-of-concept on GitHub and the VulDB entry #264467 for technical details. No verified vendor-released exploit code is reproduced here.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-4931

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /simple-online-bidding-system/admin/index.php?page=view_udet containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION, SELECT, or SLEEP( in the id parameter.
• Unusual database errors or extended response times correlated with requests against the view_udet page.
• Spikes in outbound data volume from the web server hosting the bidding application.

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL syntax in the id query parameter for the affected endpoint.
• Enable database query logging and alert on UNION SELECT statements or stacked queries originating from the bidding application service account.
• Correlate authenticated admin sessions with anomalous query patterns to detect post-authentication injection abuse.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor administrative URL paths under /admin/index.php for parameter tampering and signatures matching common SQLi toolkits such as sqlmap.
• Track failed login attempts followed by successful admin authentication, which may indicate credential reuse prior to exploitation.
• Audit MySQL/MariaDB slow query logs for repetitive time-based payloads targeting the users or bidding tables.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-4931

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the /admin/ directory using IP allowlists or VPN-only access until a fix is in place.
• Rotate all administrative credentials and review user account tables for unauthorized entries.
• Deploy WAF signatures blocking SQL injection patterns on the id parameter of the view_udet page.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published for Simple Online Bidding System 1.0. The product is a SourceCodester PHP project without a maintained security release channel. Organizations using this application should plan migration to a maintained alternative or apply manual code-level fixes using prepared statements with PDO or MySQLi bound parameters.

Workarounds

• Modify admin/index.php to validate that the id parameter is strictly an integer using intval() or filter_var($id, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT) before use.
• Replace inline SQL concatenation with parameterized queries via PDO::prepare() and bindParam().
• Place the application behind authentication-enforcing reverse proxy controls and disable public exposure of the admin interface.

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block SQLi on the vulnerable parameter
SecRule ARGS:id "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1004931,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
    msg:'CVE-2024-4931 SQLi attempt on view_udet id parameter',\
    tag:'CWE-89'"