CVE-2024-4972: Simple Chat System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-4972 Overview

CVE-2024-4972 is a SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Simple Chat System 1.0. The flaw resides in the /login.php endpoint, where the email and password parameters are passed directly into a backend SQL query without proper sanitization [CWE-89]. Remote attackers can manipulate these parameters to alter query logic, bypass authentication, or extract data from the underlying database. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed under VulDB identifier VDB-264537, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can inject arbitrary SQL through the login form, leading to authentication bypass and unauthorized access to chat data stored in the application's database.

Affected Products

• code-projects Simple Chat System 1.0
• Deployments exposing /login.php to untrusted networks
• Derivative forks reusing the same login handler logic

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-05-16 - CVE-2024-4972 published to NVD
• 2025-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-4972

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the authentication handler of Simple Chat System 1.0. The /login.php script accepts user-supplied email and password values from an HTTP POST request and concatenates them directly into a SQL statement. Because the input is neither parameterized nor escaped, attackers can break out of the string context and append arbitrary SQL clauses.

This class of flaw maps to [CWE-89] — improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command. The attack requires no prior authentication and can be initiated remotely over the network. According to the EPSS, this vulnerability carries an exploit probability of 0.247% (47.9 percentile).

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of prepared statements or input validation in the login routine. User-controlled data flows directly into the SQL query string, allowing modification of the original query's logic.

Attack Vector

An attacker submits a crafted POST request to /login.php containing SQL metacharacters in the email or password field. A typical exploitation pattern uses a tautology such as supplying an always-true condition in place of the email value, causing the backend query to return a valid row and grant access. The same primitive can be extended with UNION SELECT statements to enumerate database contents.

A public proof of concept is documented in the GitHub SQL Injection Exploit writeup and the corresponding VulDB CTI Report #264537.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-4972

Indicators of Compromise

• POST requests to /login.php containing SQL syntax tokens such as ', --, OR 1=1, or UNION SELECT in the email or password parameters.
• Web server access logs showing repeated failed login attempts followed by a successful authentication from the same source IP.
• Unexpected database errors or anomalous query response times originating from the login flow.

Detection Strategies

• Inspect web server and application logs for SQL metacharacters in login request bodies.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection signatures aligned to OWASP Core Rule Set.
• Enable database query logging to identify malformed or unexpected statements issued by the chat application user.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Alert on authentication events that occur without a preceding valid credential pattern.
• Correlate spikes in /login.php traffic with database error rates to surface probing behavior.
• Track outbound data transfer volumes from the chat application server to identify potential data exfiltration following exploitation.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-4972

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the Simple Chat System 1.0 instance behind authenticated VPN or IP allowlists until a vendor patch is available.
• Place a WAF in front of the application with rules blocking SQL injection payloads targeting /login.php.
• Rotate database credentials and review user tables for unauthorized accounts created during the exposure window.

Patch Information

At the time of the last NVD update on 2025-02-18, no official vendor patch has been published for code-projects Simple Chat System 1.0. Operators should monitor the VulDB entry #264537 for updates and consider migrating away from the affected application if a remediated release is not made available.

Workarounds

• Refactor /login.php locally to use parameterized queries or prepared statements via PDO or mysqli with bound parameters.
• Apply server-side input validation that rejects non-RFC-compliant email values and constrains password length and character set before query execution.
• Run the database account used by the application with least privilege, removing FILE, CREATE, and administrative grants to limit exploitation impact.

# Configuration example: ModSecurity rule to block SQLi patterns on /login.php
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@streq /login.php" \
  "id:1004972,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'CVE-2024-4972 SQLi attempt',\
   chain"
  SecRule ARGS:email|ARGS:password "@rx (?i)(union(\s)+select|or\s+1=1|--|';)" \
  "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"