CVE-2020-22203
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands through the genre parameter in phpCMS 2008 sp4's yp/job.php file. This affects all installations of phpCMS 2008 sp4 that have the vulnerable component enabled. Attackers can potentially read, modify, or delete database content.
💻 Affected Systems
- phpCMS
📦 What is this software?
Phpcms by Phpcms
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data destruction, or remote code execution via database functions.
Likely Case
Database information disclosure, authentication bypass, or privilege escalation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and parameterized queries in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple SQL injection with publicly available proof-of-concept.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: N/A
Vendor Advisory: N/A
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Upgrade to a supported version of phpCMS
2. Apply input validation and parameterized queries to the genre parameter
3. Remove or disable yp/job.php if not needed
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd input validation to sanitize the genre parameter before processing
Add genre parameter validation in yp/job.php: if(!preg_match('/^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$/', $_GET['genre'])) { die('Invalid input'); }
Web Application Firewall Rule
allBlock SQL injection patterns in the genre parameter
WAF rule: deny requests where genre parameter contains SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, DROP, etc.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to restrict access to vulnerable endpoint
- Deploy web application firewall with SQL injection protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test genre parameter with SQL injection payloads like: yp/job.php?genre=1' OR '1'='1Check Version:
Check phpCMS version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Test with same payloads and verify they are rejected or sanitized📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- SQL error messages in web server logs
- Unusual genre parameter values containing SQL syntax
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to yp/job.php with SQL keywords in parameters
- Abnormal database query patterns
SIEM Query:
web_access_logs | where url contains "yp/job.php" and (url contains "union" or url contains "select" or url contains "insert" or url contains "' OR" or url contains "--")