CVE-2009-2123 in Elvinbts
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in Elvin 1.2.0 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the (1) inUser (aka Username) and (2) inPass (aka Password) parameters to (a) inc/login.ei, reachable through login.php; and the (3) id parameter to (b) show_bug.php and (c) show_activity.php. NOTE: it was later reported that vector 3c also affects 1.2.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2024
The CVE-2009-2123 vulnerability represents a critical SQL injection flaw in Elvin 1.2.0, a web-based bug tracking system that was widely used for managing software development issues and project activities. This vulnerability manifests across multiple entry points within the application's authentication and data retrieval mechanisms, creating a significant attack surface for remote threat actors seeking to compromise the system. The affected components include the login authentication process and various bug tracking display functions, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could potentially allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive project data and system resources.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the Elvin application's parameter handling mechanisms. Specifically, the vulnerability occurs when the application fails to properly escape or validate user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. The three identified attack vectors demonstrate the breadth of the flaw: the inUser and inPass parameters in the login.ei script, which directly affects the authentication process, and the id parameter in show_bug.php and show_activity.php scripts, which impacts data retrieval and display functions. These parameters are directly passed to database queries without adequate sanitization, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary SQL commands that the database will execute with the privileges of the application's database user.
The operational impact of CVE-2009-2123 is severe and multifaceted, potentially enabling attackers to perform unauthorized data access, modification, and deletion operations across the entire bug tracking system. Successful exploitation could result in complete database compromise, allowing threat actors to extract sensitive project information, user credentials, and development data. The vulnerability affects not only the core authentication functionality but also the bug reporting and activity tracking features, potentially exposing confidential information about software development processes, security vulnerabilities, and project timelines. Given that this vulnerability was reported to also affect version 1.2.2, the impact extends beyond the initial affected release, indicating a fundamental flaw in the application's input handling that persisted across multiple versions.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection flaws in software applications, and represents a classic example of improper input validation that allows malicious SQL code execution. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving command and control through database manipulation and credential access via authentication bypass. The attack vectors demonstrate how a single input validation flaw can propagate across multiple application functions, creating a cascading security risk that extends from simple authentication bypass to full database compromise. Organizations using Elvin systems would be particularly vulnerable to advanced persistent threats that could leverage this vulnerability to maintain long-term access to their software development tracking infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries throughout the application codebase. The most effective immediate solution involves sanitizing all user inputs through proper escaping mechanisms and implementing prepared statements or parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection. Additionally, applying the latest security patches from the Elvin development team, if available, and implementing network-level protections such as web application firewalls can help reduce the attack surface. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar input validation issues in other application components, while access controls should be strengthened to limit database privileges granted to the application's database user accounts. System administrators should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect anomalous database activity that might indicate exploitation attempts against similar vulnerabilities.