CVE-2008-5273 in ASP News Management
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in viewnews.asp in Todd Woolums ASP News Management 2.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the newsID parameter.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-5273 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within the Todd Woolums ASP News Management 2.2 web application. This vulnerability specifically affects the viewnews.asp component which processes user input through the newsID parameter. The flaw arises from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly escape or filter user-supplied data before incorporating it into SQL database queries. This allows malicious actors to inject arbitrary SQL commands that can be executed within the context of the database connection, potentially compromising the entire database infrastructure. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection weaknesses in software applications. The attack vector is particularly dangerous as it enables remote code execution without requiring authentication or privileged access to the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic parameter-based SQL injection attack pattern where the newsID parameter is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without proper sanitization. When an attacker submits malicious input through this parameter, the application fails to validate or escape special SQL characters such as single quotes, semicolons, or comment markers. This allows attackers to manipulate the intended SQL query structure and inject additional commands that can perform unauthorized database operations including data extraction, modification, or deletion. The vulnerability affects the application's ability to maintain data integrity and confidentiality, as the SQL injection can be leveraged to bypass authentication mechanisms, access restricted data, or even escalate privileges within the database environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise to include potential system-wide damage and business disruption. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information stored within the news management system, potentially exposing confidential content, user data, or administrative credentials. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to perform data manipulation operations such as updating or deleting news articles, which can lead to information integrity violations and reputational damage. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation and T1190 for exploitation of remote services. Organizations utilizing this vulnerable software face significant risk of data breaches, regulatory compliance violations, and potential legal consequences due to inadequate security controls.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-5273 require immediate implementation of input validation and parameterized query approaches to prevent SQL injection attacks. Organizations should implement proper input sanitization by escaping special characters and validating data types before processing user input. The recommended solution involves migrating to parameterized queries or prepared statements that separate SQL code from data, eliminating the possibility of malicious SQL code injection. Additionally, implementing proper access controls, input filtering, and output encoding can significantly reduce the attack surface. Security patches should be applied immediately to address this vulnerability, as the software vendor has likely released updates or fixes to resolve the SQL injection weakness. Network segmentation and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of defense by monitoring for suspicious database access patterns and anomalous SQL query structures that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the application stack.