CVE-2008-2038 in SunShop Shopping Cart
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in admin/adminindex.php in Turnkey Web Tools SunShop Shopping Cart 4.1.0 allow remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the (1) orderby and (2) sort parameters. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/19/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-2038 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within the Turnkey Web Tools SunShop Shopping Cart version 4.1.0 administration interface. This vulnerability specifically targets the adminindex.php script which serves as the primary administrative control panel for managing the e-commerce platform. The flaw arises from insufficient input validation and sanitization of user-supplied data within the administrative section, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate the underlying database queries through carefully crafted inputs.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through two distinct parameter injection points within the orderby and sort parameters of the administrative interface. These parameters are used to control the sorting and ordering of administrative data displays, making them prime targets for SQL injection attacks. When an authenticated administrator accesses the adminindex.php page with maliciously crafted orderby or sort values, the application fails to properly escape or validate these inputs before incorporating them into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands that execute within the database context, potentially granting them elevated privileges and access to sensitive data.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to e-commerce platforms utilizing SunShop 4.1.0 as it requires only authenticated administrative access to exploit. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it operates within the legitimate administrative interface, making detection more challenging for security monitoring systems. The potential impact includes unauthorized data manipulation, information disclosure, and possible complete system compromise. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to extract customer data, modify product catalogs, alter pricing information, or even escalate privileges to gain full administrative control over the shopping cart system.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-89 which classifies SQL injection as a weakness where untrusted data is incorporated into SQL commands without proper validation or escaping mechanisms. Additionally, this flaw maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for malicious file execution, as the vulnerability requires legitimate administrative credentials to exploit but can lead to broader system compromise. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameterized queries, and regular security updates to address this vulnerability. The lack of confirmed provenance for the vulnerability details underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security intelligence and implementing robust application security controls regardless of the source verification status of reported vulnerabilities.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of secure coding practices in administrative interfaces where user inputs directly influence database operations. Proper implementation of input sanitization, use of prepared statements, and regular security assessments would have prevented this vulnerability from existing in the first place. Organizations maintaining legacy systems should prioritize patching or upgrading vulnerable applications to prevent exploitation by threat actors who may have already identified and weaponized this specific vulnerability within their attack toolkits.