CVE-2005-4030 in Quicksilver Forums
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in Quicksilver Forums before 1.5.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the HTTP_USER_AGENT header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/28/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4030 represents a critical sql injection flaw within Quicksilver Forums version 1.5.0 and earlier, classified under CWE-89 according to the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. This vulnerability specifically targets the application's handling of user input through the HTTP_USER_AGENT header, which is an HTTP request header field that contains information about the client software making the request. The flaw arises when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate this header input before incorporating it into database queries, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject arbitrary sql commands.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the HTTP_USER_AGENT header value, which is typically used by web applications to identify the type of client software accessing the server. When an attacker crafts a malicious user agent string containing sql payload code, the vulnerable application processes this input without adequate sanitization measures, allowing the injected sql commands to execute within the database context. This type of injection vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol tunneling and T1213.002 for data from information repositories, as it enables unauthorized access to database resources and potential data exfiltration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as successful exploitation can lead to complete database compromise, unauthorized user account creation, data modification or deletion, and potential system escalation. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain persistent access to the forum's database, potentially accessing user credentials, private messages, and other sensitive information stored within the application's data repositories. The vulnerability affects not only the confidentiality of stored data but also the integrity and availability of the entire forum platform, as attackers could potentially corrupt database structures or render the application unusable through malicious sql injection payloads.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching to Quicksilver Forums version 1.5.1 or later, which addresses the sql injection flaw through proper input validation and sanitization measures. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation mechanisms that filter or escape special characters in all user-supplied data, including http headers, to prevent sql injection attacks. The implementation of prepared statements or parameterized queries should be enforced throughout the application codebase to ensure that user input is treated as data rather than executable code. Additionally, network-based security controls such as web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be configured to monitor for suspicious user agent patterns that may indicate sql injection attempts, while regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities across the entire application infrastructure.