CVE-2005-3024 in vBulletin
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in vBulletin 3.0.7 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the (1) announcement parameter to announcement.php, the (2) thread[forumid] or (3) criteria parameters to thread.php, (4) userid parameter to user.php, the (5) calendarcustomfieldid, (6) calendarid, (7) moderatorid, (8) holidayid, (9) calendarmoderatorid, or (10) calendar[0] parameters to admincalendar.php, (11) the cronid parameter to cronlog.php, (12) user[usergroupid][0] parameter to email.php, (13) help[0] parameter to help.php, the (14) limitnumber or (15) limitstart parameter to user.php, the (16) usertitleid or (17) ids parameters to usertitle.php, (18) rvt[0] parameter to language.php, (19) keep[0] parameter to phrase.php, (20) dostyleid parameter to template.php, (21) thread[forumid] parameter to thread.php, or (22) usertools.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3024 represents a critical SQL injection flaw affecting vBulletin versions 3.0.7 and earlier, constituting a fundamental weakness in input validation and query construction. This vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied parameters across multiple administrative and user-facing scripts, creating pathways for remote attackers to manipulate database queries through crafted input. The flaw is categorized under CWE-89 as SQL injection, which directly violates the principle of secure input handling and demonstrates poor application design practices in database interaction. These vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they affect administrative interfaces and core functionality scripts, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and potentially execute arbitrary commands on the underlying database server.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through multiple entry points within the vBulletin application, each representing a distinct parameter that fails to properly validate or escape user input before incorporating it into SQL queries. Attackers can manipulate parameters such as announcement parameter in announcement.php, thread[forumid] in thread.php, or userid in user.php to inject malicious SQL code that gets executed by the database engine. The attack vectors span across various administrative scripts including admincalendar.php, cronlog.php, email.php, help.php, and others, indicating a systemic failure in input validation throughout the application architecture. This widespread nature of the vulnerability suggests that the application lacks consistent security controls and proper parameter sanitization mechanisms, making it particularly susceptible to exploitation.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-3024 is severe and multifaceted, potentially allowing attackers to extract confidential user data, modify database contents, and gain elevated privileges within the application. Successful exploitation could result in complete database compromise, leading to data breaches, user account takeovers, and potential system compromise. The vulnerability affects core forum functionality including announcements, thread management, user administration, calendar features, and template management, making it a critical threat to forum administrators and users alike. Organizations running vulnerable versions of vBulletin face significant risk of unauthorized data access, content manipulation, and potential service disruption. The attack surface is extensive due to the multiple parameters affected, increasing the likelihood of successful exploitation and reducing the effort required by attackers to achieve their objectives.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the vBulletin application to version 3.0.8 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms across all user-facing parameters, following the principle of least privilege for database connections. The implementation of proper parameterized queries and prepared statements should be enforced throughout the application codebase, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer defense. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be deployed to monitor for exploitation attempts. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components, while database access controls should be tightened to limit the privileges of application database accounts. Additionally, implementing proper logging and monitoring of database activities can help detect and respond to exploitation attempts more effectively.