CVE-2024-9813: Codezips Pharmacy Management SQL Injection

CVE-2024-9813 Overview

CVE-2024-9813 is a SQL injection vulnerability in Codezips Pharmacy Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in the product/register.php file, where the category parameter is processed without proper sanitization. Attackers can manipulate this parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements into backend database queries. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network, requires no authentication, and needs no user interaction. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic attacks against exposed installations. The weakness is classified under [CWE-89] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can inject SQL queries through the category parameter in product/register.php, potentially exposing or altering pharmacy and patient records.

Affected Products

• Codezips Pharmacy Management System 1.0
• Component: product/register.php
• Vulnerable parameter: category

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-10 - CVE-2024-9813 published to NVD
• 2024-10-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9813

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from unsafe handling of user-supplied input in product/register.php. The category argument is concatenated directly into a SQL query without parameterization or input validation. This allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and append additional SQL clauses. Because Codezips Pharmacy Management System is a PHP-based web application, the injected statements execute against the underlying MySQL or MariaDB database. The attack can be launched remotely over HTTP, with no privileges or user interaction required. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized data retrieval, data modification, or, depending on database privileges, broader database compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of prepared statements and input sanitization in the request handler for product/register.php. The category parameter flows from the HTTP request into a SQL query string through unsafe concatenation. The application does not enforce type checks, allow-lists, or parameter binding before passing the input to the database driver.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to product/register.php with a malicious payload in the category parameter. The payload uses standard SQL injection techniques such as boolean-based, union-based, or time-based blind injection. No authentication is required, and the attack can be automated using publicly available tools such as sqlmap. The exploit has been disclosed via GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and tracked on VulDB #279965.

No verified proof-of-concept code is published in this advisory. Refer to the linked references for technical details on the vulnerable request pattern.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9813

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to product/register.php containing SQL meta-characters such as ', ", --, UNION, SLEEP(, or OR 1=1 in the category parameter.
• Web server access logs showing repeated requests to product/register.php with abnormally long or encoded category values.
• Database error messages or stack traces returned in HTTP responses from the pharmacy application.
• Unexpected outbound database connections or anomalous query patterns from the application host.

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect the category parameter for SQL injection signatures.
• Enable database query logging and alert on queries originating from product/register.php containing tautologies or stacked statements.
• Correlate web access logs with database audit logs to identify malformed queries triggered by HTTP requests.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor for high request volume against product/register.php from single IP addresses, indicating automated injection probing.
• Track HTTP 500 responses and database error strings returned to clients as potential indicators of active exploitation attempts.
• Alert on unusual SELECT, UNION, or INFORMATION_SCHEMA queries executed by the application database user.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9813

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Codezips Pharmacy Management System until a vendor patch is available, allowing connections only from trusted networks or via VPN.
• Deploy WAF rules to filter SQL injection payloads targeting the category parameter in product/register.php.
• Audit the application database account and reduce its privileges to the minimum required for application functionality.
• Review web server and database logs for prior exploitation attempts against the affected endpoint.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch is referenced in the NVD entry for CVE-2024-9813 at the time of publication. Track the VulDB CTI ID #279965 entry and the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion for updates. Organizations should consider migrating to a maintained pharmacy management platform if the vendor does not provide a fix.

Workarounds

• Modify product/register.php to use parameterized queries or PDO prepared statements when handling the category parameter.
• Implement server-side allow-list validation to accept only expected category values, rejecting any input containing SQL syntax.
• Place the application behind a reverse proxy with input validation rules enforcing strict character sets on query parameters.
• Disable verbose database error messages in production to limit information disclosure that aids blind injection.

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection in the category parameter
SecRule ARGS:category "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1009813,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
    msg:'CVE-2024-9813 - SQLi attempt in product/register.php category parameter',\
    logdata:'Matched data: %{MATCHED_VAR}'"