CVE-2024-55509

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-55509 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in the CodeAstro Complaint Management System v1.0. The flaw resides in the id parameter of the delete.php component, allowing a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary SQL commands. This can lead to unauthorized data access, privilege escalation, and potential remote code execution if the database server has sufficient permissions. The vulnerability is publicly known, but no official patch or advisory has been released by the vendor. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains high due to the simplicity of exploitation.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to any package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). It is a standalone PHP application.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

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

• 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 is the only affected component.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – full database read access possible.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – data can be modified or deleted.
• Availability (A): High (H) – potential for denial of service via SQL manipulation.

Estimated CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)

Threat Level: Critical. The vulnerability allows for complete compromise of the application's database and potentially the underlying server.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection in the delete.php script. The application likely constructs a SQL query by directly concatenating user-supplied input from the id parameter without proper sanitization or parameterized queries.

Example vulnerable code pattern:

$id = $_GET['id'];
$sql = "DELETE FROM complaints WHERE id = $id";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

An attacker can manipulate the id parameter to break out of the intended SQL statement and execute arbitrary commands. For example:

http://target.com/delete.php?id=1 OR 1=1

This would delete all records in the complaints table.

More advanced exploitation can involve UNION-based SQL injection to extract data from other tables, or stacked queries (if supported by the database) to execute system commands.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (delete.php):

<?php
include 'db_connection.php';
$id = $_GET['id'];
$sql = "DELETE FROM complaints WHERE id = $id";
if (mysqli_query($conn, $sql)) {
    echo "Record deleted successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error deleting record: " . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>

Patched Code (using prepared statements):

<?php
include 'db_connection.php';
$id = $_GET['id'];
$stmt = $conn->prepare("DELETE FROM complaints WHERE id = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("i", $id);
if ($stmt->execute()) {
    echo "Record deleted successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error deleting record: " . $stmt->error;
}
$stmt->close();
?>

The patched version uses a prepared statement with a parameterized query, which prevents SQL injection by separating SQL logic from data.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Download CodeAstro Complaint Management System v1.0 from a trusted source (e.g., official website or archive).
2. Set up a local web server (e.g., XAMPP, WAMP) with PHP and MySQL.
3. Deploy the application and create a test database.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint: http://target/delete.php?id=1
2. Test for SQL injection by adding a single quote: http://target/delete.php?id=1' – look for a database error.
3. Use UNION-based injection to extract data:

   http://target/delete.php?id=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--
   

   (Adjust column count based on the actual table structure)
4. Extract database version and user:

   http://target/delete.php?id=1 UNION SELECT 1,@@version,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--
   

5. For privilege escalation, attempt to read sensitive files or execute commands using INTO OUTFILE or xp_cmdshell (if MSSQL).

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious id parameter values containing SQL keywords (e.g., UNION, SELECT, OR, AND, --).
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block SQL injection patterns.
• Use database activity monitoring to detect anomalous queries.

Mitigation:

• Immediately apply input validation and parameterized queries.
• Restrict database user permissions to the minimum required.
• Implement a Content Security Policy (CSP) to reduce impact of XSS if combined with SQLi.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network:
  • HTTP requests to /delete.php with id parameter containing SQL syntax (e.g., ', OR, UNION, --).
  • Unusual database error messages in HTTP responses (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").
• Host:
  • Unexpected files in the web root (e.g., webshells like cmd.php).
  • New database users or modified privileges.
  • Unusual outbound connections from the database server.
• Logs:
  • Web server logs showing repeated requests to delete.php with varying id values.
  • Database logs showing queries with UNION, INTO OUTFILE, or xp_cmdshell.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_55509_SQLi_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2024-55509 in CodeAstro Complaint Management System"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-55509"
    strings:
        $sqli_pattern1 = /id=\d*['\"]?\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/i
        $sqli_pattern2 = /id=\d*['\"]?\s*\/\*/i
        $sqli_pattern3 = /id=\d*['\"]?\s*;/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt Against CodeAstro Complaint Management System
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts targeting the id parameter in delete.php
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/04/10
references:
    - https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-55509
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - 'id='
            - 'OR'
            - 'AND'
            - 'UNION'
            - 'SELECT'
            - '--'
            - '#'
            - '/*'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of SQL keywords in parameters (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-55509 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"/delete.php"; http_uri; content:"id="; http_uri; pcre:"/id=\d*['\"]?\s*(OR|AND|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE|DROP|--|#)/iU"; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: If possible, take the application offline until a patch is applied.
2. Code Fix: Replace all direct SQL queries with prepared statements or parameterized queries. For the delete.php file, use the patched code provided above.
3. Input Validation: Implement strict input validation for the id parameter. Accept only numeric values.
4. Database Hardening:
   • Use a dedicated database user with minimal privileges (e.g., only SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE on required tables).
   • Disable xp_cmdshell and other dangerous features.
   • Regularly backup the database.
5. Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF with rules to block SQL injection patterns.
6. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging and set up alerts for suspicious database queries.
7. Vendor Contact: Attempt to contact CodeAstro for an official patch. If none is available, consider migrating to a different, actively maintained system.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers