Recently, a serious security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2022-43127, has been discovered in the Online Diagnostic Lab Management System v1.. This vulnerability allows malicious users with the ability to perform SQL Injection attacks, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, and potential backdoor entry to the affected systems. In this blog post, we’ll examine the details of this vulnerability, a code snippet showcasing the issue, and some helpful links to safeguard your systems from this exploit.

Background

The Online Diagnostic Lab Management System v1. is a web-based application that helps in managing diagnostic labs' operations, including patient registration, appointment scheduling, billing, and generating lab reports. While it indeed simplifies the lab management workflow, the application has a critical vulnerability that exposes sensitive information like patient records, billing details, and other confidential data.

Exploit Details

The SQL injection vulnerability exists in the 'update_status.php' file, which allows an attacker to inject malicious SQL code into the 'id' parameter. By doing so, the attacker can manipulate the SQL query, leading to unauthorized access to the underlying database.

Here's a code snippet illustrating the issue

// File: appointments/update_status.php

$id = $_POST['id']; // vulnerable line
$status = $_POST['status'];

// SQL query to update appointment status
$updateSQL = "UPDATE appointments SET status='$status' WHERE id='$id'";

As seen from the code snippet, the application takes the 'id' parameter directly from user input through a $_POST request, without any validation or sanitization. This makes it easy for an attacker to inject an SQL payload like ' OR '1'='1, altering the SQL query to:

UPDATE appointments SET status='X' WHERE id='' OR '1'='1'`

With this exploit, the attacker can update the appointment status of all patients in the database, potentially leading to more harmful activities like data tampering, exporting confidential records, and more.

1. CVE-2022-43127 - National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2. Online Diagnostic Lab Management System v1. - Exploit Database
3. SQL Injection in update_status.php - GitHub Security Advisory

Mitigation and Protection Measures

- It is crucial to validate and sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks. PHP provides built-in functions like mysqli_real_escape_string() and PDO::quote() to help escape special characters in strings used for SQL statements.
- Using prepared statements with parameterized queries can also help prevent SQL injection. The use of prepared statements ensures that user input is treated as data, rather than part of the SQL query.
- Always apply the principle of least privilege. Restrict database permissions, ensuring only authorized users have access to sensitive data.
- Keep your installation of the Online Diagnostic Lab Management System up-to-date with security patches.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-43127 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in the Online Diagnostic Lab Management System v1., putting sensitive patient data and the integrity of the affected systems at risk. By following the recommended mitigation measures and keeping an eye on the latest security updates, you can protect your diagnostic lab's operations from potential cyber threats.

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 14:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/01/2022 23:33:00 UTC