CVE-2021-43451
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a SQL injection vulnerability in PHPGURUKUL Employee Record Management System 1.2. Attackers can inject malicious SQL commands via the Email parameter in the forgetpassword.php endpoint, potentially allowing unauthorized database access. Organizations using this specific version of the software are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PHPGURUKUL Employee Record Management System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including data exfiltration, authentication bypass, privilege escalation, and potential remote code execution if database permissions allow.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to employee records, password hash extraction, and potential authentication bypass to gain administrative access.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation, parameterized queries, and database permission restrictions in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Public exploit code available on Exploit-DB and GitHub. No authentication required to reach vulnerable endpoint.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: No official vendor advisory found
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Review the vulnerable forgetpassword.php file. 2. Replace raw SQL queries with parameterized prepared statements. 3. Implement proper input validation and sanitization for email parameter. 4. Test the fix thoroughly before deployment.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd server-side validation to restrict email parameter to valid email format only
// PHP code to validate email format
if (!filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
die('Invalid email format');
}
WAF Rule Implementation
linuxDeploy web application firewall rules to block SQL injection patterns
# ModSecurity rule example
SecRule ARGS:email "@rx (?:'|\"|;|--|union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|create|alter)" \
"id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Attempt'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Block external access to /forgetpassword.php endpoint at network perimeter
- Implement rate limiting and monitoring on the forgetpassword.php endpoint
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test the forgetpassword.php endpoint with SQL injection payloads like: email=test' OR '1'='1Check Version:
Check PHPGURUKUL Employee Record Management System version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Attempt SQL injection tests and verify they are rejected with proper error handling📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL error messages in PHP logs
- Multiple failed password reset attempts with SQL-like patterns
- Requests to forgetpassword.php with special characters in email parameter
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /forgetpassword.php containing SQL keywords
- Unusual database query patterns from web server
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/forgetpassword.php" AND (email="*'*" OR email="*;*" OR email="*--*" OR email="*union*" OR email="*select*")🔗 References
- https://github.com/nu11secur1ty/CVE-nu11secur1ty/tree/main/vendors/PHPGURUKUL/ANUJ%20KUMAR/Employee-Record-Management-System-SQL-Injection
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50467
- https://www.nu11secur1ty.com/2021/12/cve-2021-43451.html
- https://github.com/nu11secur1ty/CVE-nu11secur1ty/tree/main/vendors/PHPGURUKUL/ANUJ%20KUMAR/Employee-Record-Management-System-SQL-Injection
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50467
- https://www.nu11secur1ty.com/2021/12/cve-2021-43451.html
