CVE-2009-3961 in superseriousstats
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in user.php in Super Serious Stats (aka superseriousstats) before 1.1.2p1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the uid parameter, related to an "incorrect regexp." NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/23/2019
The CVE-2009-3961 vulnerability represents a critical sql injection flaw in the Super Serious Stats web application, specifically within the user.php script. This vulnerability affects versions prior to 1.1.2p1 and exposes the application to remote code execution through improper input validation mechanisms. The flaw stems from an incorrect regular expression implementation that fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, creating an exploitable condition that allows attackers to inject malicious sql commands directly into the application's database layer.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic input validation bypass scenario where the uid parameter in user.php does not adequately filter or escape special characters that could alter the intended sql query structure. When an attacker submits a malicious uid value containing sql payload characters, the flawed regular expression validation fails to detect or neutralize these dangerous inputs, allowing the injected commands to execute within the database context. This misconfiguration aligns with CWE-89, which specifically addresses sql injection vulnerabilities resulting from insufficient input sanitization and improper escaping of special characters in database queries.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to systems running affected versions of Super Serious Stats, as it enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary database commands without authentication. Attackers can leverage this weakness to extract sensitive data, modify database records, insert malicious entries, or potentially escalate privileges within the database environment. The impact extends beyond simple data theft, as successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to all user information stored within the application's database infrastructure. This vulnerability particularly affects web applications that handle user authentication and management, making it a prime target for attackers seeking persistent access to sensitive user data.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with several tactics described in the attack framework, including initial access through web application exploitation and privilege escalation via database manipulation. Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor patch released in version 1.1.2p1, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious sql injection patterns. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their web applications to identify similar input validation flaws and ensure proper parameterized queries are implemented throughout their codebase to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other components of their infrastructure.