CVE-2024-9797: Blood Bank System SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2024-9797 Overview

CVE-2024-9797 is a SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Blood Bank System 1.0. The flaw resides in the register.php script, where the user parameter is passed unsanitized to the backend database query. Remote, unauthenticated attackers can manipulate the parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances. The vulnerability maps to [CWE-89] Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can inject SQL into the registration endpoint, exposing donor records, credentials, and potentially the full database backing the application.

Affected Products

code-projects Blood Bank System 1.0
Component: register.php
Vulnerable parameter: user

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-10 - CVE-2024-9797 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9797

Vulnerability Analysis

The Blood Bank System 1.0 exposes a registration endpoint that accepts user-supplied input through the user parameter. The application concatenates this value directly into a SQL query without parameterization or input validation. As a result, attackers can break out of the intended string context and append arbitrary SQL clauses. Successful exploitation can disclose donor records, authentication credentials, blood inventory data, and administrator account hashes. Depending on database privileges, attackers may also modify or delete records or escalate to writing files on the database server.

Root Cause

The root cause is a failure to neutralize special characters in user-controlled input before incorporating it into a dynamic SQL statement [CWE-89]. The register.php script lacks prepared statements, parameterized queries, and input sanitization for the user field. Any character that the SQL parser treats as syntax, such as single quotes, comments, or UNION keywords, is interpreted by the database engine.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is reachable over the network and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to register.php with a malicious payload in the user parameter. Because the registration page is typically accessible to anonymous visitors, the attack surface is broad. Public technical documentation describing the injection point is available in the GitHub CVE Documentation and the VulDB #279948 entry.

No verified exploit code examples are provided for this advisory. The vulnerability manifests when the user parameter in a POST request to register.php is set to a SQL injection payload, such as a tautology or UNION SELECT clause, which the backend then executes against the database.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9797

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP POST requests to register.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, --, /*, UNION, or SELECT in the user field.
Web server access logs showing repeated registration attempts with abnormally long or encoded user values.
Database error messages or stack traces returned in HTTP responses from the registration workflow.
Unexpected new administrator accounts or modified donor records in the Blood Bank database.

Detection Strategies

Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that inspects POST bodies to register.php for SQL injection signatures.
Enable verbose database query logging and alert on queries originating from the registration handler that include UNION, OR 1=1, or comment sequences.
Correlate web access logs with database audit logs to identify anomalous query patterns tied to registration requests.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor the register.php endpoint for spikes in request volume, failed registrations, or HTTP 500 responses indicating injection probing.
Track outbound database connections from the application host for unusual data volumes that may indicate exfiltration.
Review authentication logs for newly created or privilege-elevated accounts following suspicious registration traffic.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9797

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict public access to the Blood Bank System 1.0 instance through network segmentation or IP allow-listing until a fix is applied.
Place the application behind a WAF with SQL injection signatures enabled for the user parameter.
Audit the database for unauthorized accounts, modified records, and unexpected schema changes.
Rotate database credentials and any user passwords that may have been exposed.

Patch Information

No official vendor advisory or patch is listed for code-projects Blood Bank System 1.0 in the available references. Operators should monitor the Code Projects Resource for updates. In the absence of an official patch, source code remediation is required to replace dynamic query construction in register.php with parameterized statements using prepared statements (for example, PDO or mysqli with bound parameters).

Workarounds

Modify register.php to use parameterized queries and reject non-alphanumeric characters in the user field.
Apply a least-privilege database account to the application so that injection cannot escalate to administrative database operations.
Disable or remove the registration endpoint if it is not required for production use.
Deploy virtual patching rules at the WAF to block SQL metacharacters in the user parameter.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL metacharacters in the user parameter
SecRule ARGS:user "@rx (?i)(\'|--|/\*|union\s+select|or\s+1=1)" \
    "id:1009797,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
     msg:'CVE-2024-9797 - SQL injection attempt in register.php user parameter'"