CVE-2022-3472 in Human Resource Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2022
A vulnerability was found in SourceCodester Human Resource Management System. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file city.php. The manipulation of the argument cityedit leads to sql injection. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-210716.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2022
This critical vulnerability exists within the SourceCodester Human Resource Management System where a sql injection flaw has been identified in the city.php file. The vulnerability specifically manifests when processing the cityedit argument, creating an attack vector that allows malicious actors to manipulate database queries through crafted input. The exploitation of this vulnerability occurs remotely, meaning attackers do not require physical access to the system to carry out their malicious activities. The disclosure of the exploit to the public community significantly increases the risk profile as threat actors can readily leverage this knowledge to compromise affected systems. This vulnerability represents a fundamental breakdown in input validation and query construction practices within the application's codebase, creating a pathway for unauthorized database access and potential data exfiltration.
The technical implementation of this sql injection vulnerability stems from improper sanitization of user-supplied input within the cityedit parameter handling mechanism. When the application processes the cityedit argument without adequate validation or parameterization, it directly incorporates user data into sql query construction, enabling attackers to inject malicious sql commands. This flaw aligns with CWE-89 which specifically addresses sql injection vulnerabilities resulting from inadequate input validation and improper query construction. The remote exploitability indicates that the vulnerability can be triggered through web-based interfaces without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous for web applications. Attackers can potentially extract sensitive information, modify database records, or even escalate privileges through this injection point.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise, as it represents a critical threat to the integrity and confidentiality of human resource management data. Organizations utilizing this system face significant risk of unauthorized access to employee records, salary information, and other sensitive personnel data. The vulnerability's classification as critical within the cvss scoring system indicates a high probability of successful exploitation and severe consequences for affected organizations. The disclosure of the exploit to the public community means that this vulnerability is actively being used in the wild, increasing the likelihood of successful attacks against unpatched systems. This creates an urgent security imperative for organizations to assess their exposure and implement immediate protective measures.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries to prevent sql injection attacks. The most effective immediate solution involves updating the city.php file to utilize prepared statements or parameterized queries when processing the cityedit argument, thereby preventing user input from being interpreted as sql commands. Organizations should also implement web application firewalls to detect and block malicious sql injection attempts, while conducting comprehensive code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities in other application components. The implementation of proper input sanitization techniques and output encoding can further reduce the attack surface. Additionally, organizations should consider network segmentation and access controls to limit potential damage from successful exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and maintaining up-to-date security patches to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under initial access and execution techniques, specifically targeting the use of sql injection to gain unauthorized database access and potentially escalate privileges within the affected system environment.