CVE-2017-20261: Joomla! Bargain Product VM3 SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2017-20261 describes a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability affecting Joomla! Component Bargain Product VM3 version 1.0. This flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries against the backend database. Attackers achieve this by crafting malicious HTTP GET requests and injecting SQL code through the product_id parameter. Specifically, the vulnerability manifests in the component's brainy and alice views. Successful exploitation can lead to the extraction of sensitive database information, including but not limited to user credentials, system configurations, and proprietary application data, posing a significant risk to data confidentiality. This vulnerability is present in an older component, but still poses a risk if unpatched systems are exposed.

Attack Chain

1. Attacker identifies an internet-facing Joomla! instance running the vulnerable Bargain Product VM3 1.0 component, often through reconnaissance or automated scanning.
2. The attacker crafts a malicious HTTP GET request targeting a vulnerable view, such as /index.php?option=com_bargainproduct&view=brainy.
3. An SQL injection payload is embedded within the product_id parameter of the GET request (e.g., product_id=1%20UNION%20SELECT%20NULL,user(),NULL,NULL--).
4. The vulnerable Joomla! component processes the request, incorrectly parsing the product_id parameter and executing the injected SQL query against the underlying database.
5. The attacker observes the HTTP response, which now contains output from the executed SQL query, allowing them to extract sensitive database information.
6. Through iterative SQL injection, the attacker can systematically exfiltrate various tables, credentials, or other data from the database.

Impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2017-20261 grants unauthenticated attackers the ability to execute arbitrary SQL queries. The primary observed impact is the extraction of sensitive database information, leading to significant data breaches. This can compromise customer data, internal application logic, and potentially administrative credentials, allowing for further access to the compromised system or connected infrastructure. While the NVD advisory specifically highlights data extraction, arbitrary SQL query execution inherently carries the risk of data modification or deletion, leading to data integrity and availability issues.

Recommendation

• Prioritize patching or removing the Joomla! Component Bargain Product VM3 1.0 immediately to mitigate CVE-2017-20261.
• Deploy the Sigma rules in this brief to your SIEM and tune them for your environment to detect exploitation attempts.
• Enable comprehensive web server access logging, ensuring cs-uri-stem and cs-uri-query are captured for all HTTP requests to aid in detecting injection attempts.
• Regularly review web server access logs for anomalous requests containing SQL injection patterns, as described in the provided detection rules.