CVE-2024-9034: Patient Record Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2024-9034 Overview

CVE-2024-9034 is a SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Patient Record Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in login.php, where the username parameter is passed to a SQL query without proper sanitization. An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary SQL through this parameter to manipulate the underlying database. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances. The weakness is tracked under [CWE-89].

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote SQL injection through the login form allows attackers to bypass authentication and access, modify, or extract patient records from the database.

Affected Products

code-projects Patient Record Management System 1.0
Deployments referencing CPE cpe:2.3:a:code-projects:patient_record_management_system:1.0
Any web-facing installation exposing login.php

Discovery Timeline

2024-09-20 - CVE-2024-9034 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9034

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the authentication flow of login.php. The application concatenates the username HTTP parameter into a SQL statement without parameterization or input escaping. Attackers can submit crafted values that terminate the intended string literal and append arbitrary SQL clauses. Successful exploitation can bypass authentication, dump user or patient tables, or modify records. The attack requires no privileges, no user interaction, and can be launched over the network against any reachable instance.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in a SQL command [CWE-89]. The username input is treated as a trusted string and embedded directly into a dynamic query. The absence of prepared statements or bound parameters allows meta-characters such as single quotes, comments, and boolean operators to alter query semantics. Insufficient server-side validation on login inputs compounds the issue.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is performed remotely through an HTTP POST request to login.php. An attacker submits a payload in the username field such as a tautology-based bypass or a UNION-based extraction sequence. Because the injection occurs prior to authentication, no valid credentials are required. Public disclosure of the technique in the referenced GitHub CVE Issue #1 and VulDB #278204 entries lowers the barrier for exploitation. Technical details are further described in the referenced advisories rather than reproduced here.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9034

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP POST requests to /login.php containing SQL meta-characters in the username parameter such as ', --, OR 1=1, or UNION SELECT.
Web server access logs showing repeated failed authentications followed by an unexpected successful login from the same source IP.
Database error messages or 500 responses correlating with unusual login payloads.
Outbound data transfers from the database host immediately after suspicious login activity.

Detection Strategies

Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL injection signatures targeting login endpoints.
Enable database query logging and alert on unparameterized queries containing user-supplied strings.
Correlate authentication logs with WAF and network telemetry to identify injection attempts followed by anomalous session activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor login.php for high request volumes, malformed payloads, and non-standard User-Agent strings.
Track database accounts used by the application for unusual query patterns such as schema enumeration or bulk SELECT operations.
Alert on newly created administrative or user accounts within the application database.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9034

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict public network access to the Patient Record Management System until a fix is applied, using firewall rules or VPN gating.
Deploy WAF rules to block SQL injection payloads targeting the username parameter of login.php.
Review authentication and database logs for indicators of prior exploitation and rotate any credentials that may have been exposed.

Patch Information

No vendor patch is referenced in the NVD entry for CVE-2024-9034. Refer to the vendor site at Code Projects Resource for update availability. Organizations should treat the affected version as unmaintained until an official fix is published and consider migrating to a supported platform.

Workarounds

Rewrite the vulnerable query in login.php to use prepared statements with bound parameters instead of string concatenation.
Apply strict allow-list validation on the username field, rejecting characters that are not required for legitimate usernames.
Run the application database account with the least privileges required, denying schema modification and access to unrelated tables.
Place the application behind an authenticated reverse proxy to reduce unauthenticated exposure.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQLi patterns on the login endpoint
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@endsWith /login.php" \
  "phase:2,chain,deny,status:403,id:1009034,msg:'CVE-2024-9034 SQLi attempt'"
  SecRule ARGS:username "@rx (?i)(\bunion\b.*\bselect\b|'--|\bor\b\s+1=1|;\s*drop\b)" "t:none"