CVE-2004-0272 in MaxWebPortal
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in MaxWebPortal allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary SQL code and gain sensitive information via the SendTo parameter in Personal Messages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0272 represents a critical sql injection flaw within the MaxWebPortal application that exposes remote attackers to significant security risks. This vulnerability specifically targets the Personal Messages functionality where the SendTo parameter fails to properly validate or sanitize user input before incorporating it into sql queries. The weakness allows malicious actors to manipulate the application's database interactions by injecting crafted sql commands through the message sending interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the MaxWebPortal codebase. When users attempt to send personal messages through the application's interface, the SendTo parameter containing recipient information is directly concatenated into sql statements without proper escaping or parameterization. This design flaw creates an environment where attackers can append malicious sql fragments to the legitimate query structure, effectively bypassing authentication mechanisms and gaining unauthorized access to database contents. The vulnerability operates under the common weakness classification of cwe-89 sql injection as defined by the common weakness enumeration database.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to organizations utilizing MaxWebPortal for their web-based communication systems. Attackers can exploit this flaw to extract sensitive information including user credentials, personal data, and potentially administrative privileges. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the system or local network presence to exploit the vulnerability. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to include potential system compromise, data manipulation, and service disruption that could affect business continuity and regulatory compliance requirements.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with tactics described in the attack pattern taxonomy where adversaries leverage sql injection techniques to achieve unauthorized data access. Security professionals should recognize this as a classic example of insufficient input sanitization that violates fundamental secure coding practices. Organizations using MaxWebPortal should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameterized queries, and proper output encoding to prevent malicious sql injection attempts. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the application's codebase.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability encompass multiple layers of defensive measures including the implementation of proper input validation routines that filter or escape special sql characters, deployment of web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious sql injection patterns, and regular database access privilege management to limit the potential impact of successful attacks. System administrators should also establish monitoring procedures to detect anomalous database access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of following secure coding standards and conducting thorough security testing throughout the software development lifecycle to prevent such fundamental flaws from reaching production environments.