CVE-2020-23711
📋 TL;DR
NavigateCMS 2.9 contains a SQL injection vulnerability in the navigate.php file via the URL-encoded GET parameter 'category'. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the database. All websites running NavigateCMS 2.9 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- NavigateCMS
📦 What is this software?
Navigate Cms by Naviwebs
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data destruction, or remote code execution via database functions.
Likely Case
Unauthorized data access, privilege escalation, or data manipulation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper input validation and parameterized queries are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple URL manipulation required. No authentication needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: NavigateCMS 2.9.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/NavigateCMS/Navigate-CMS/issues/20
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download latest NavigateCMS version from official repository. 2. Backup current installation. 3. Replace navigate.php with patched version. 4. Verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd input validation for 'category' parameter in navigate.php
Modify navigate.php to validate/sanitize the 'category' GET parameter before use in SQL queries
Web Application Firewall Rule
allBlock SQL injection patterns in 'category' parameter
Add WAF rule to detect and block SQL injection attempts in URL parameters
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation for all GET parameters in navigate.php
- Deploy web application firewall with SQL injection protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by sending SQL injection payload in 'category' parameter to navigate.phpCheck Version:
Check NavigateCMS version in admin panel or version fileVerify Fix Applied:
Verify that SQL injection attempts no longer succeed and return proper error handling📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL errors in web server logs
- Multiple requests with SQL keywords in 'category' parameter
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with SQL injection payloads in URL parameters
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url="*category=*SELECT*" OR url="*category=*UNION*" OR url="*category=*OR*1=1*")