CVE-2024-5517: Blood Bank Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-5517 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in itsourcecode Online Blood Bank Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the changepwd.php file, where the useremail parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in database queries. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL statements, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the blood bank database, modify or delete records, and potentially gain unauthorized access to the system without authentication.

Affected Products

• Adonesevangelista Online Blood Bank Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-05-30 - CVE-2024-5517 published to NVD
• 2025-02-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-5517

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the password change functionality in the Online Blood Bank Management System. The changepwd.php file accepts user-supplied input through the useremail parameter without proper input validation or parameterized queries. When a user attempts to change their password, the application constructs SQL queries using this unvalidated input, allowing attackers to manipulate the query structure.

The vulnerability is network-accessible and requires no authentication or user interaction to exploit. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL payloads in the useremail parameter, which are then executed against the database server. This could lead to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation in the changepwd.php file. The application fails to sanitize or parameterize the useremail input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows user-controlled data to be interpreted as SQL code rather than as data, enabling injection attacks. The lack of prepared statements or parameterized queries is a fundamental security flaw that permits direct manipulation of database operations.

Attack Vector

The attack is launched remotely over the network by sending crafted HTTP requests to the changepwd.php endpoint. An attacker would manipulate the useremail parameter to include SQL injection payloads such as UNION-based queries to extract data, boolean-based blind injection to infer database contents, or time-based blind injection for data exfiltration when direct output is not visible. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the likelihood of exploitation attempts.

The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms, extract sensitive information such as donor records and blood type data, modify database entries, and potentially escalate to full system compromise depending on database permissions and configuration.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-5517

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to changepwd.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords in the useremail parameter
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unexpected database queries or access patterns in database audit logs
• Authentication bypass attempts or unauthorized password changes in application logs

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests targeting the changepwd.php endpoint
• Implement database query logging and monitoring for anomalous query patterns or syntax errors
• Monitor for large data exports or unusual SELECT statements that may indicate data exfiltration attempts
• Review application logs for repeated failed password change attempts with unusual email formats

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the web server for all requests to changepwd.php and similar authentication-related files
• Configure database audit logging to track all queries executed against user and authentication tables
• Set up alerting for SQL error messages that may indicate injection attempts
• Monitor network traffic for unusual data transfer volumes from the database server

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-5517

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Online Blood Bank Management System to trusted IP ranges until patching is complete
• Implement web application firewall rules to filter SQL injection attempts on the useremail parameter
• Review application logs and database audit logs for signs of exploitation
• Consider taking the affected application offline if it handles sensitive patient data and cannot be adequately protected

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been identified for this vulnerability. The affected software (Online Blood Bank Management System 1.0 by itsourcecode) appears to be an open-source educational project. Organizations using this software should implement code-level fixes by replacing direct SQL query construction with prepared statements or parameterized queries. For additional technical details, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB #266588.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation on the useremail parameter to accept only properly formatted email addresses using regex validation
• Modify the changepwd.php file to use prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of string concatenation
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF in front of the application to filter malicious requests
• Disable or restrict access to the password change functionality until proper fixes can be implemented

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection on changepwd.php
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains changepwd.php" "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,chain"
SecRule ARGS:useremail "@rx (?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|--)" "msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected'"