CVE-2004-1961 in Protector System
Summary
by MITRE
blocker.php in Protector System 1.15b1 allows remote attackers to bypass SQL injection protection and execute limited SQL commands via URL-encoded " " characters ("%27").
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1961 affects the Protector System version 1.15b1, specifically targeting the blocker.php component designed to prevent SQL injection attacks. This flaw represents a critical weakness in the application's input validation mechanisms that allows malicious actors to circumvent security protections through carefully crafted URL-encoded payloads. The vulnerability specifically exploits the system's handling of single quote characters that are URL-encoded as "%27", demonstrating how inadequate sanitization can lead to complete bypass of intended security controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input filtering within the Protector System's SQL injection prevention layer. When the system encounters URL-encoded single quotes in the request parameters, it fails to properly decode and validate these characters before processing them in database queries. This creates a pathway for attackers to inject malicious SQL commands that would normally be blocked by the system's protection mechanisms. The flaw operates at the application layer where user input is processed without adequate sanitization, making it particularly dangerous as it directly undermines the core security functionality designed to protect against database exploitation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute limited SQL commands against the underlying database system, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion. The ability to bypass SQL injection protection mechanisms means that attackers can exploit the system's database layer without being detected by standard security monitoring tools. This represents a significant risk to data integrity and confidentiality, as the vulnerability can be leveraged to extract sensitive information from the database or manipulate stored data. The limited nature of the SQL command execution suggests that while attackers can perform specific database operations, they cannot execute arbitrary commands or fully compromise the system's database layer.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-89, which describes SQL injection flaws that occur when an application fails to properly sanitize user input before using it in SQL queries. This weakness falls under the category of insufficient input validation and demonstrates how improper handling of encoded characters can create security gaps in defensive mechanisms. The issue also connects to ATT&CK technique T1071.004, which covers application layer protocol manipulation, as attackers exploit the protocol handling to bypass security controls. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation improvements, proper URL decoding before sanitization, and enhanced monitoring for unusual database access patterns. The fix requires strengthening the input validation logic to properly handle URL-encoded characters before any database query processing occurs, ensuring that all user-supplied data is thoroughly sanitized regardless of encoding method used.
This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of comprehensive input validation and the potential consequences of relying solely on basic protection mechanisms. The flaw demonstrates how attackers can exploit subtle implementation weaknesses in security controls to gain unauthorized access to database resources, emphasizing the need for layered security approaches and regular security assessments. Organizations should consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts and ensure that all input validation occurs at multiple levels within the application architecture to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future.