CVE-2009-4045 in FrontAccounting
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in FrontAccounting (FA) before 2.1.7 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified parameters to various .inc and .php files in (1) reporting/, (2) sales/, (3) sales/includes/, (4) sales/includes/db/, (5) sales/inquiry/, (6) sales/manage/, (7) sales/view/, (8) taxes/, and (9) taxes/db/.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/23/2019
The CVE-2009-4045 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in FrontAccounting versions prior to 2.1.7, exposing multiple SQL injection attack vectors across several core application modules. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-89 category of SQL Injection, which is classified as a severe weakness in software security. The affected application components span across reporting functionalities, sales management systems, tax processing modules, and their respective database interaction layers, creating an extensive attack surface that threat actors could exploit to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through unspecified parameters within various .inc and .php files across multiple directories including reporting/, sales/, taxes/, and their subdirectories. These files handle database interactions that fail to properly sanitize or validate user input before incorporating it into SQL queries. When attackers craft malicious input that bypasses normal validation mechanisms, they can inject arbitrary SQL commands that execute within the database context. The vulnerability's widespread presence across nine different directory structures indicates a systemic flaw in the application's input handling architecture rather than isolated incidents.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it enables attackers to perform complete database manipulation including data extraction, modification, or deletion. Threat actors could potentially escalate privileges within the database, access sensitive financial information, manipulate transaction records, or even gain complete control over the application's database layer. The exposure across multiple sales-related modules particularly concerning, as these typically contain customer data, financial transactions, and business-critical information that could be compromised. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates inadequate input validation practices that are fundamental to secure application development.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement comprehensive mitigations including patching to version 2.1.7 or later, which addresses the underlying SQL injection flaws through proper input sanitization and parameterized query implementations. Additional defensive measures should include implementing web application firewalls, conducting thorough code reviews for input handling, and establishing robust database access controls. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation and T1566 for spearphishing with a focus on credential access and data manipulation. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other application components, while network segmentation can help limit potential damage from successful exploitation attempts.