CVE-2017-17599
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2017-17599 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in Advance Online Learning Management Script 3.1 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the courselist.php subcatid or popcourseid parameters. This affects all organizations using this specific version of the learning management system. Attackers can potentially access, modify, or delete database content without authentication.
💻 Affected Systems
- Advance Online Learning Management Script
📦 What is this software?
Advance Online Learning Management Script by Advance Online Learning Management Script Project
View all CVEs affecting Advance Online Learning Management Script →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data destruction, authentication bypass, and potential remote code execution through database functions.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive student/teacher data, course materials, and administrative credentials stored in the database.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and database permissions, potentially only allowing data viewing without modification.
🎯 Exploit Status
Multiple public exploit scripts are available. The vulnerability requires no authentication and has simple exploitation vectors.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown - No official patch from vendor identified
Vendor Advisory: No vendor advisory found
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Review the courselist.php file
2. Implement proper input validation and parameterized queries
3. Replace vulnerable code with prepared statements
4. Test thoroughly before deployment
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd input validation to filter and sanitize subcatid and popcourseid parameters
// In courselist.php, add before SQL execution:
$subcatid = filter_var($_GET['subcatid'], FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);
if ($subcatid === false) { die('Invalid input'); }
Web Application Firewall Rule
linuxBlock SQL injection patterns in requests to courselist.php
# Example ModSecurity rule:
SecRule ARGS "(?i:(union.*select|select.*from|insert.*into|update.*set|delete.*from))" \
"id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Attempt'"
# Example nginx rule:
location ~* courselist\.php$ { \
if ($args ~* "(union.*select|select.*from)") { \
return 403; \
} \
}
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate the vulnerable system from sensitive data
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by accessing courselist.php with SQL injection payloads like: courselist.php?subcatid=1' OR '1'='1Check Version:
Check script version in admin panel or review file headers/commentsVerify Fix Applied:
Attempt SQL injection tests and verify they are blocked or sanitized. Check that prepared statements are used in the code.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual database queries from web server
- Multiple failed SQL syntax errors in logs
- Requests to courselist.php with SQL keywords in parameters
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, INSERT) in URL parameters
- Unusual database traffic patterns from web server
SIEM Query:
source="web_server_logs" AND (uri="*courselist.php*" AND (query="*union*select*" OR query="*select*from*" OR query="*' OR '*"))🔗 References
- https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/145300/Advance-Online-Learning-Management-Script-3.1-SQL-Injection.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43264/
- https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/145300/Advance-Online-Learning-Management-Script-3.1-SQL-Injection.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43264/
