CVE-2024-54445
Remediation/Mitigation Strategy for CVE-2024-54445
This document outlines the remediation and mitigation strategy for CVE-2024-54445, a critical blind SQL injection vulnerability.
1. Vulnerability Description:
- Vulnerability: Blind SQL Injection in Login Functionality
- Description: The login functionality is susceptible to a blind SQL injection vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability using time-based blind SQL injection techniques to extract sensitive data from the database. This includes, but may not be limited to, user credentials, configuration details, and other application data. Account takeover is possible if the database contains relevant account information.
- Affected Component: Login functionality
- Attack Vector: Network (unauthenticated)
- Data Leakage: Full Database contents possible. Account takeover possible.
2. Severity:
- CVSS Score: 8.7 (High)
- CVSS Vector: (The provided text does not give us a specific CVSS vector. A typical vector for this would be something like
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N- Access Vector Network, Access Complexity Low, Privileges Required None, User Interaction None, Scope Unchanged, Confidentiality High, Integrity High, Availability None). A complete CVSS vector would be needed to perfectly replicate the score. - Severity Level: Critical
3. Known Exploits:
- Exploitability: Exploitable by unauthenticated attackers over the network.
- Technique: Time-based blind SQL injection. This technique involves crafting SQL queries that cause a delay in the server’s response, allowing the attacker to infer information based on the response time.
- Potential Impact:
- Data Breach: Disclosure of sensitive database contents.
- Account Takeover: Gaining unauthorized access to user accounts.
- Privilege Escalation: Gaining higher levels of access within the application.
- System Compromise: Depending on database privileges and application architecture, potential for further system compromise.
4. Remediation Strategy:
The primary goal of the remediation strategy is to eliminate the SQL injection vulnerability.
Immediate Actions (Short-Term Mitigation):
- Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rule Implementation: Deploy or update WAF rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns, especially those targeting the login functionality. This provides an immediate layer of defense, but it’s not a substitute for fixing the underlying vulnerability. Specifically look for patterns involving
sleep()or other time-delay functions. - Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting on the login endpoint to slow down potential brute-force and injection attempts.
- Monitoring and Alerting: Enhance monitoring of login attempts, paying close attention to unusual patterns, failed logins, and requests with suspicious characters or long execution times. Set up alerts to notify security teams of potentially malicious activity.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rule Implementation: Deploy or update WAF rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns, especially those targeting the login functionality. This provides an immediate layer of defense, but it’s not a substitute for fixing the underlying vulnerability. Specifically look for patterns involving
Long-Term Fixes (Code Remediation):
- Input Validation: Implement robust input validation on all user-supplied data used in SQL queries within the login functionality. Specifically, validate the username and password fields. Use whitelisting (allow only known-good characters) instead of blacklisting (attempting to block known-bad characters).
- Parameterized Queries (Prepared Statements): The most effective solution is to use parameterized queries (also known as prepared statements) with proper type handling in all SQL queries. Parameterized queries prevent the database from interpreting user input as code, effectively neutralizing SQL injection attacks. This MUST be implemented.
- Principle of Least Privilege: Ensure that the database user account used by the application has only the minimum necessary privileges. This limits the potential damage an attacker can cause if they successfully exploit the vulnerability.
- Code Review: Conduct a thorough code review of the login functionality and related database interactions to identify and address any other potential SQL injection vulnerabilities.
- Update Frameworks and Libraries: Ensure that all frameworks, libraries, and dependencies used by the application are up-to-date with the latest security patches. Outdated components can contain known vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.
5. Mitigation Strategy (In Case of Delay in Remediation):
If immediate remediation is not possible, implement the following mitigation strategies:
- Honeypot Accounts: Create decoy accounts with easily identifiable patterns and monitor login attempts to these accounts. Successful logins to these accounts are strong indicators of malicious activity.
- Database Activity Monitoring: Implement database activity monitoring to detect suspicious queries and data access patterns.
- Incident Response Plan: Develop and test an incident response plan specifically for SQL injection attacks. This plan should include procedures for identifying, containing, and recovering from a successful attack.
6. Testing and Verification:
- Penetration Testing: Conduct thorough penetration testing of the login functionality and the entire application after implementing the remediation steps to verify that the SQL injection vulnerability has been successfully eliminated. Use automated SQL injection scanners and manual testing techniques.
- Regression Testing: Perform regression testing to ensure that the changes made to fix the vulnerability have not introduced any new issues.
- Static Analysis: Use static analysis tools to identify potential SQL injection vulnerabilities in the codebase.
7. Communication:
- Internal Communication: Communicate the vulnerability and its potential impact to all relevant stakeholders, including developers, security team, and management.
- Vendor Communication (if applicable): If the affected application is a third-party product, notify the vendor of the vulnerability and request a patch or workaround.
8. Timeline:
- Immediate Actions: Within 24-48 hours.
- Long-Term Fixes: Within 1-2 weeks (depending on the complexity of the code and the resources available).
- Testing and Verification: Immediately following the implementation of the long-term fixes.
- Ongoing Monitoring: Continuous.
9. Roles and Responsibilities:
- Development Team: Responsible for implementing the code remediation.
- Security Team: Responsible for verifying the effectiveness of the remediation, conducting penetration testing, and developing and maintaining security policies.
- Operations Team: Responsible for deploying the changes and monitoring the system for suspicious activity.
- Management: Responsible for providing the necessary resources and support for the remediation effort.
10. Post-Incident Review:
After the remediation is complete, conduct a post-incident review to identify the root cause of the vulnerability and to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. This should include a review of the development practices, security policies, and training programs.
Assigner
- Synopsys [email protected]
Date
- Published Date: 2025-03-14 18:15:30
- Updated Date: 2025-03-14 18:15:30