CVE-2019-14754 in Open-school
Summary
by MITRE
Open-School 3.0, and Community Edition 2.3, allows SQL Injection via the index.php?r=students/students/document id parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/21/2023
The vulnerability CVE-2019-14754 represents a critical sql injection flaw in Open-School software versions 3.0 and Community Edition 2.3. This vulnerability specifically affects the document parameter within the students/students/document endpoint of the application's url structure. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary sql commands by manipulating the id parameter in the index.php?r=students/students/document id url pattern. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of CWE-89 sql injection as defined by the common weakness enumeration framework. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it enables unauthorized users to directly interface with the database layer through the web application's user interface without proper authentication or authorization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and sanitization within the application's parameter handling mechanism. When the index.php script processes the document id parameter, it fails to properly escape or sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into sql queries. This allows malicious actors to inject sql payload directly through the url parameter, potentially leading to complete database compromise. The vulnerability exists in the application's data processing pipeline where user input transitions from the http request to the sql execution context without adequate security controls. According to the mitre attack framework, this vulnerability maps to the initial access phase where adversaries establish footholds within target environments through exploitation of web application vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted across multiple security domains. Successful exploitation could result in unauthorized data access, data modification, or complete database destruction. Attackers could potentially extract sensitive student information, personal identification details, academic records, or administrative data. The vulnerability also poses risks for privilege escalation attacks where attackers might gain administrative access to the application and subsequently the underlying database system. This type of vulnerability commonly maps to the credential access and persistence tactics described in the attack framework, as it provides attackers with the means to maintain long-term access to sensitive information. Organizations using affected Open-School versions face significant regulatory compliance risks, particularly in educational environments where student privacy is protected under laws such asFERPA and GDPR.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-14754 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to address the root cause of the vulnerability. Organizations must implement proper input validation and parameterized queries to prevent sql injection attacks, ensuring that all user-supplied data is properly sanitized before database interaction. The recommended approach includes adopting prepared statements and stored procedures to eliminate the possibility of sql command injection through parameter manipulation. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring for suspicious sql injection patterns in network traffic. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the application's codebase, while access controls should be strengthened to limit database privileges to the minimum required for application functionality. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions to detect and alert on unusual database access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.