CVE-2024-25168

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-25168 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in Snow v2.0.0, specifically within the system/role/list interface. The flaw resides in the dataScope parameter, which is improperly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to full database compromise, data exfiltration, and remote code execution on the underlying server. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 0.0 in the NVD data, but based on the impact and attack vector, a more realistic score would be 9.8 (Critical). No public proof-of-concept or patch is currently available, making this a high-priority zero-day for organizations using Snow v2.0.0.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to a package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby) but is a direct application-level flaw in the Snow software. Organizations should verify their Snow deployment version and apply any vendor-supplied patches as soon as they become available.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component and the impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Full database read access possible.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – Data can be modified or deleted.
• Availability (A): High (H) – Database can be disrupted or destroyed.

Threat Level: Critical (9.8)

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the system/role/list endpoint of Snow v2.0.0. The dataScope parameter is used to filter or scope role data within a SQL query. Due to insufficient input validation and sanitization, an attacker can inject SQL metacharacters (e.g., single quotes, UNION, OR) into the dataScope parameter. This allows the attacker to manipulate the SQL query structure, bypass authentication, extract sensitive data, or execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Example vulnerable code snippet (conceptual):

SELECT * FROM roles WHERE scope = '" + dataScope + "'

An attacker could supply:

' OR '1'='1

Resulting in:

SELECT * FROM roles WHERE scope = '' OR '1'='1'

This would return all roles, bypassing intended restrictions.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Snow v2.0.0):

// Vulnerable: Direct concatenation of user input
String query = "SELECT * FROM roles WHERE scope = '" + dataScope + "'";
Statement stmt = connection.createStatement();
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(query);

Patched Code (Hypothetical fix):

// Patched: Use parameterized queries
String query = "SELECT * FROM roles WHERE scope = ?";
PreparedStatement pstmt = connection.prepareStatement(query);
pstmt.setString(1, dataScope);
ResultSet rs = pstmt.executeQuery();

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Environment:

• Target: Snow v2.0.0 running on a Linux server (e.g., Ubuntu 22.04).
• Attacker: Kali Linux with SQLMap and Burp Suite.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint: POST /system/role/list
2. Intercept the request with Burp Suite.
3. Modify the dataScope parameter to inject SQL:

   dataScope=' OR '1'='1' -- 
   

4. Use SQLMap for automated exploitation:

   sqlmap -u "http://target.com/system/role/list" --data="dataScope=test" --batch --dbs
   

5. Extract database contents:

   sqlmap -u "http://target.com/system/role/list" --data="dataScope=test" --batch -D snow_db --tables
   

Note: No public exploit code is available; the above is a generic SQL injection approach.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection & Response:

• Monitor for SQL injection patterns in web logs (e.g., ' OR, UNION SELECT, --).
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block SQL injection attempts.
• Implement input validation and parameterized queries in the application code.
• Conduct regular vulnerability scans and penetration tests.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • HTTP requests to /system/role/list with abnormal dataScope parameters containing SQL keywords.
  • Outbound database connections from the web server to unexpected IPs.
• File IOCs:
  • Suspicious log entries in web server logs (e.g., Apache access.log) showing SQL injection attempts.
• System IOCs:
  • Unexpected database queries or errors in application logs.
  • New user accounts or roles created in the database.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_25168_SQLi {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2024-25168 in Snow v2.0.0"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-25168"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = /dataScope=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|EXEC)/i
        $sqli2 = /dataScope=.*--/i
        $sqli3 = /dataScope=.*\/\*/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt Against Snow system/role/list
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoint
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-stem: '/system/role/list'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - 'dataScope='
    keywords:
        - "' OR"
        - "' AND"
        - "UNION SELECT"
        - "1=1"
        - "1=2"
        - "--"
        - "/*"
    condition: selection and keywords
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of special characters in role names (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-25168 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/system/role/list"; http_uri; content:"dataScope="; http_client_body; pcre:"/dataScope=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|EXEC)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:

   • Isolate Snow v2.0.0 systems from untrusted networks.
   • Apply input validation and parameterized queries to the dataScope parameter.
   • Deploy a WAF with SQL injection rules.

2. Long-term Fix:

   • Upgrade to a patched version of Snow (once available).
   • Conduct a full security audit of the application code.
   • Implement secure coding practices (e.g., OWASP guidelines).

3. Monitoring:

   • Enable detailed logging for all web requests.
   • Set up alerts for SQL injection patterns.
   • Regularly review logs for suspicious activity.

Valters IT