CVE-2013-5091 in vTiger
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in CalendarCommon.php in vTiger CRM 5.4.0 and possibly earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the onlyforuser parameter in an index action to index.php. NOTE: this issue might be a duplicate of CVE-2011-4559.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2013-5091 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within the vTiger CRM 5.4.0 application and potentially earlier versions. This security weakness resides in the CalendarCommon.php file and specifically affects the index action within the index.php script. The vulnerability manifests when authenticated users exploit the onlyforuser parameter, enabling them to inject malicious SQL commands directly into the application's database layer. The flaw demonstrates a classic case of inadequate input validation and parameter sanitization, where user-supplied data flows directly into SQL query construction without proper escaping or filtering mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows the standard SQL injection attack pattern where malicious input is crafted to manipulate the intended SQL query execution. When an authenticated user submits a specially crafted onlyforuser parameter value, the application fails to properly sanitize this input before incorporating it into database queries. This creates an opportunity for attackers to inject additional SQL statements that can execute with the privileges of the application's database user. The impact extends beyond simple data retrieval as attackers can potentially modify, delete, or extract sensitive information from the underlying database system.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations using vTiger CRM 5.4.0 or earlier versions, as it requires only authenticated access to exploit. This means that users with legitimate access to the system can leverage this flaw to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer data, business records, and potentially system credentials. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-89 which specifically addresses SQL injection weaknesses, and its exploitation pattern corresponds to techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1071.004 sub-technique for application layer protocol tunneling and command execution. The fact that this vulnerability may be a duplicate of CVE-2011-4559 suggests a persistent flaw in the application's codebase that was not properly addressed in the security updates.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches from vTiger, implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries, and conducting thorough code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components. Network segmentation and monitoring for unusual database access patterns can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and regular security assessments can provide defense-in-depth measures against such attacks. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and following secure coding practices to prevent SQL injection attacks that can compromise entire database systems.