CVE-2017-15987 in Fake Magazine Cover Script
Summary
by MITRE
Fake Magazine Cover Script allows SQL Injection via the rate.php value parameter or the content.php id parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-15987 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within a web application that processes magazine cover scripts. This vulnerability manifests through two distinct attack vectors, specifically targeting the rate.php script where the value parameter and the content.php script where the id parameter are susceptible to malicious input manipulation. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization practices within the application's database interaction mechanisms, allowing unauthorized users to inject malicious SQL commands through carefully crafted parameters.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker submits malicious input through either the value parameter in rate.php or the id parameter in content.php. These parameters are directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization, creating an environment where SQL injection attacks can succeed. The vulnerability falls under CWE-89 which specifically addresses SQL injection flaws where untrusted data is used to construct SQL queries without adequate validation or escaping mechanisms. This weakness enables attackers to manipulate database queries and potentially extract sensitive information, modify database contents, or even execute administrative operations on the underlying database system.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-15987 extends beyond simple data theft, as it provides attackers with potential access to the entire database backend of the magazine cover script application. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to retrieve user credentials, personal information, or administrative access details stored within the database. The implications are particularly severe for applications handling sensitive user data or containing administrative functionalities, as the vulnerability could be exploited to escalate privileges and gain full control over the database. This type of vulnerability is categorized under the MITRE ATT&CK framework as part of the credential access and defense evasion techniques, where attackers can use SQL injection to extract credentials and maintain persistent access to systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper input validation and parameterized queries throughout the application codebase. The most effective approach involves adopting prepared statements or parameterized queries that separate SQL command structure from data values, ensuring that user input cannot alter the intended execution flow of database queries. Additionally, implementing proper input sanitization routines and employing web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection. The application should also enforce least privilege principles for database connections and implement proper error handling that does not expose database structure information to end users. Regular security code reviews and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities across the application's attack surface, as SQL injection remains one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application security flaws according to OWASP Top Ten categories.