CVE-2024-7452: Placement Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-7452 Overview

CVE-2024-7452 is a SQL injection vulnerability in itsourcecode Placement Management System 1.0. The flaw exists in view_company.php, where the id parameter is passed directly into a database query without proper sanitization [CWE-89]. Remote attackers with low privileges can manipulate the id argument to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed under VulDB identifier VDB-273543, and exploit details are available online. Successful exploitation can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the application database through the id parameter in view_company.php, enabling data theft, modification, or destruction.

Affected Products

• itsourcecode Placement Management System 1.0
• view_company.php component
• Deployments using the angeljudesuarez:placement_management_system codebase

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-08-04 - CVE-2024-7452 published to NVD
• 2024-08-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7452

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in view_company.php, a PHP script that retrieves company records based on a user-supplied id parameter. The application passes the parameter directly into a SQL query string without parameterization or input validation. This allows an authenticated remote attacker to append SQL syntax to the id value and alter the intended query logic.

The weakness is classified under [CWE-89] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). The attack requires network access and low privileges, with no user interaction. Public disclosure of exploitation steps increases the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of prepared statements or input sanitization when constructing SQL queries from the id GET parameter. The application concatenates untrusted input into the query, allowing the database engine to interpret attacker-controlled characters as SQL syntax rather than data.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to view_company.php with a malicious id parameter. The injected SQL is executed by the backend MySQL database with the privileges of the application database user. Depending on the database configuration, the attacker may extract user credentials, modify records, or escalate to further compromise. Refer to the GitHub CVE-11 Analysis and VulDB #273543 for technical specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7452

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to view_company.php containing SQL meta-characters such as single quotes, UNION, SELECT, --, or OR 1=1 in the id parameter
• Unusual database error messages logged by the web server or application
• Unexpected outbound data volumes from the database tier following requests to view_company.php

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to identify SQL injection patterns targeting the id parameter
• Enable database query logging and alert on queries containing tautologies, stacked statements, or UNION SELECT clauses originating from the application user
• Review web server access logs for anomalous query strings against view_company.php

Monitoring Recommendations

• Correlate web access logs with database audit logs to identify injection attempts that result in successful query execution
• Monitor for new or unexpected database users, schema changes, or large SELECT operations against sensitive tables
• Alert on repeated HTTP 500 responses from view_company.php, which may indicate probing activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7452

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Placement Management System until remediation is applied
• Audit view_company.php and replace string-concatenated SQL with parameterized queries using PDO or MySQLi prepared statements
• Apply least-privilege principles to the database account used by the application, removing DROP, ALTER, and FILE privileges where not required
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published in the references provided. Administrators should apply manual code remediation in view_company.php by introducing prepared statements and input validation for the id parameter. Track vendor updates via the VulDB entry.

Workarounds

• Place the application behind a WAF configured to block SQL injection payloads targeting numeric parameters
• Implement server-side type casting of id to integer before use in any database query
• Disable verbose database error messages in production to limit information leakage to attackers

# Configuration example: enforce integer casting in PHP
# In view_company.php, replace:
#   $id = $_GET['id'];
# With:
#   $id = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'id', FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);
#   if ($id === false) { http_response_code(400); exit; }
#   $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM company WHERE id = :id');
#   $stmt->execute([':id' => $id]);