CVE-2021-42665
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2021-42665 is an SQL injection vulnerability in the Engineers Online Portal PHP application that allows attackers to bypass authentication via the login form. This affects any organization using the vulnerable version of this software, potentially allowing unauthorized access to the portal.
💻 Affected Systems
- Sourcecodester Engineers Online Portal
📦 What is this software?
Engineers Online Portal by Engineers Online Portal Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of the portal with administrative privileges, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement to connected systems.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive engineer data, portal manipulation, and potential data theft.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and parameterized queries preventing exploitation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Multiple public exploit scripts available requiring minimal technical skill to execute.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/13115/engineers-online-portal-php.html
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download latest version from Sourcecodester
2. Replace vulnerable index.php and related files
3. Test authentication functionality
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Sanitization
allImplement proper input validation and parameterized queries in login.php
Modify PHP code to use prepared statements: $stmt = $conn->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ? AND password = ?'); $stmt->bind_param('ss', $username, $password);
Web Application Firewall
allDeploy WAF with SQL injection protection rules
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate the portal from critical systems
- Enable detailed logging and monitoring for suspicious login attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test login form with SQL injection payloads like ' OR '1'='1 in username/password fieldsCheck Version:
Check PHP files for vulnerable code patterns in index.php and login handling scriptsVerify Fix Applied:
Attempt SQL injection attacks after fix implementation; successful login should only occur with valid credentials📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL syntax in login attempts
- Multiple failed logins from single IP
- Successful logins with SQL-like patterns
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to login.php containing SQL keywords
- Unusual authentication patterns
SIEM Query:
source=web_logs AND (uri_path="/login.php" OR uri_path="/index.php") AND (request_body CONTAINS "OR" OR request_body CONTAINS "UNION" OR request_body CONTAINS "SELECT")🔗 References
- https://github.com/TheHackingRabbi/CVE-2021-42665
- https://github.com/nu11secur1ty/CVE-mitre/tree/main/CVE-2021-42665
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50452
- https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/13115/engineers-online-portal-php.html
- https://github.com/TheHackingRabbi/CVE-2021-42665
- https://github.com/nu11secur1ty/CVE-mitre/tree/main/CVE-2021-42665
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50452
- https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/13115/engineers-online-portal-php.html
