CVE-2023-5053 in Hospital Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
Hospital management system version 378c157 allows to bypass authentication. This is possible because the application is vulnerable to SQLI.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5053 affects a hospital management system running version 378c157 and represents a critical authentication bypass flaw that stems from an underlying SQL injection vulnerability. This issue creates a severe security risk within healthcare environments where patient data confidentiality and system integrity are paramount. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to gain access to the system without proper credentials, potentially exposing sensitive medical information and compromising patient privacy. The root cause lies in improper input validation within the application's database interaction mechanisms, where user-supplied data is directly incorporated into SQL queries without adequate sanitization or parameterization.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through SQL injection attacks that manipulate the authentication process by crafting malicious input that alters the intended SQL query execution. When legitimate users attempt to authenticate, the application processes their input through a vulnerable SQL statement that can be manipulated to return true for any user credentials. This allows attackers to bypass authentication entirely and access the hospital management system with elevated privileges. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-89 which specifically addresses SQL injection flaws, and represents a direct violation of secure coding practices that mandate proper input validation and parameterized queries to prevent malicious data injection into database operations. The attack vector typically involves manipulating login form parameters or API endpoints that handle authentication requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential data breaches, system compromise, and regulatory violations within healthcare environments. Healthcare organizations face stringent compliance requirements under regulations such as HIPAA, making unauthorized access to patient records a critical concern. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to view, modify, or delete patient data, potentially affecting patient care and safety. The system's exposure to SQL injection attacks also creates opportunities for attackers to escalate privileges, access administrative functions, or even establish persistent backdoors within the network. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1190 which covers exploitation of remote services and T1078 which addresses valid accounts usage, as the bypass allows attackers to operate with legitimate system credentials.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-5053 must include immediate patching of the vulnerable hospital management system to address the underlying SQL injection flaw. Organizations should implement proper input validation and parameterized queries to prevent future injection attacks, while also deploying web application firewalls and database activity monitoring solutions. Access controls should be strengthened through multi-factor authentication implementation and regular security audits of authentication mechanisms. The system should undergo comprehensive penetration testing to identify additional vulnerabilities, and security teams must monitor for unusual database access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, healthcare organizations should ensure their incident response plans include procedures for handling potential patient data breaches and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements throughout the remediation process. Regular security training for developers on secure coding practices and database security is essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from reoccurring in future system versions.