(PT-2009-18) Positive Technologies Security Advisory
Cetera CMS SQL Injection vulnerability

Affected Software

Cetera CMS
Versions up to 14 (inclusive)

Product Link:
http://www.cetera.ru

Severity Rating

Severity: High
Impact: SQL Injection
Attack Vector: Remote

CVSS v2

Base Score: 7.5
Temporal Score: 5.9
Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:P/RL:O/RC:C)

CVE: not assigned

Software Description

Cetera CMS is a content management system (CMS) software, usually implemented as a Web application, for creating and managing HTML content. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images).

Vulnerability Description

Positive Technologies Research Team has discovered an SQL injection vulnerability in Cetera CMS. Application incorrectly validates input in URL that allows attackers to conduct SQL injection attack.

"SQL Injection" is a way to bypass network protection and attack the database. Settings transferred to the database through Web applications are specially crafted to modify executable SQL query, for example, an attacker could execute additional query with the first one by adding different symbols to a setting.
The attack can be used to reach the following goals:
1. Obtain access to data which is normally unavailable or obtain system configuration data which can be used for further attacks. For example, modified query may return hashed user passwords which could be decrypted with brute force attack.
2. Access to company machines through database server using database procedures and 3GL language extension which allows to access operating system.

Details are not provided.

Solution

Update to latest version Cetera CMS 15.

Workaround

magic_quotes on will fix the vulnerability.

Disclosure Timeline

03/02/2009 - Vendor is notified
03/02/2009 - Vendor response
03/03/2009 - Requested status update from vendor
03/24/2009 - Requested status update from vendor
03/24/2009 - Vendor releases fixed version and details
05/26/2009 - Public disclosure

Credits

This vulnerability was discovered by Dmitry Evteev (Positive Technologies Research Team) using professional network security scanner MaxPatrol.

References

http://en.securitylab.ru/lab/PT-2009-18
http://www.ptsecurity.ru/advisory.asp

Complete list of vulnerability reports published by Positive Technologies Research Team:

http://en.securitylab.ru/lab/
http://www.ptsecurity.ru/advisory.asp

About Positive Technologies

Positive Technologies www.ptsecurity.com is among the key players in the IT security market in Russia.
The principal activities of the company include the development of integrated tools for information security monitoring (MaxPatrol); providing IT security consulting services and technical support; the development of the Securitylab en.securitylab.ru leading Russian information security portal.

Among the clients of Positive Technologies there are more than 40 state enterprises, more than 50 banks and financial organizations, 20 telecommunication companies, more than 40 plant facilities, as well as IT, service and retail companies from Russia, CIS countries, Baltic States, China, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Iran, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South African Republic, Thailand, Turkey and USA.

Positive Technologies is a team of highly skilled developers, advisers and experts with years of vast hands-on experience. The company specialists possess professional titles and certificates; they are the members of various international societies and are actively involved in the IT security field development.