Introduction
In the dynamic landscape of today’s digital world, the realm of cybersecurity is more critical than ever. One perilous threat that continues to haunt organizations is SQL injection attacks. We at Pynesec Technologies are committed to educating you about the seriousness of SQL injection vulnerabilities, the potential repercussions, and the effective countermeasures that can stop such assaults and secure your online presence. We are a rapidly expanding, fantastic provider of comprehensive cyber security services.
Understanding SQL Injection Attacks
Cybercriminals use sophisticated strategies like SQL injection attacks to take advantage of holes in web apps that communicate with databases by using SQL queries. In order to inject malicious SQL code into these searches and obtain access to databases without authorization, the attackers modify inputs.
Impact of SQL Injection Attacks
The fallout of a successful SQL injection attack can be catastrophic:
Types of SQL Injection Attacks
Examples of SQL Injection Attacks
Input-Based Attack:
Think about a situation where an application authorizes or denies access based on user-provided credentials (such as a username and password). A malicious user can take advantage of this flaw if the application’s code isn’t properly protected against SQL injection.
The code enclosed in single quotes (‘1’=’1′) in the example Here I gave, username =’ OR ‘1’=’1, essentially evaluates to true because ‘1’ is always equal to ‘1’. If at least one of the conditions is met, the OR operator in SQL returns true. Therefore, the query might appear something like this when this input is added to an SQL query during authentication:
SQL Query
SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ” OR ‘1’=’1′ AND password = ‘some_password’
Notice how the injected code ‘1’=’1′ causes the WHERE clause to always evaluate as true. This means that the query returns all records from the “users” table, regardless of the actual username provided. In essence, the attacker successfully bypasses the intended authentication mechanism and gains unauthorized access to the system.
Union-Based Attack:
An example of a union-based SQL injection attack.
First, we must identify the application’s vulnerable parameter. In the image below, the application behaves as if we provide information User ID = 1. It displays the first and last surnames.
If we alter the user ID to 1′ and it throws SQL errors, this indicates it’s vulnerable to SQL injection.
In this scenario, an attacker is attempting to manipulate the input parameter “id” to execute a malicious SQL query. Let’s break down this example to understand how it works and what it aims to achieve.
http://example.com/dvwa/vulnerabilities/sqli/?id=1&Submit=Submit#
The goal of this input is to display the user from the “1” value. However, if the website’s code is vulnerable to SQL injection, an attacker could modify the input to execute their own SQL query. Here’s what the attacker might input:
id = 1′ UNION SELECT null, concat(user,0x0a,password) FROM users#
In this case, the attacker is attempting to concatenate an additional query using the “UNION” statement. The injected query is:
SELECT username, password FROM users
Now, let’s consider how the manipulated query might be processed by the application:
The original query intended to retrieve the user from the “1” ID value.
The injected query aims to retrieve usernames and passwords from the “users” table.
When the application processes the manipulated input, it concatenates both queries using the “UNION” operator. The result is that the application combines the legitimate product data with the extracted username and password information from the “users” table.
This type of attack can potentially lead to the exposure of sensitive user credentials.
The passwords are hash-encrypted; the password is 32 characters, We conclude that the password is an MD5 hash algorithm, and the encrypted value of “5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99” is “password,” so the admin user’s passwords is password.
Remediation and Best Practices
Conclusion
SQL injection attacks continue to be a strong rival, endangering data security and business continuity in a world full of digital risks. We can create a strong defense against this malicious attack by understanding the inner workings of these attacks, recognizing the potential consequences, and following best practices. Our cutting-edge cyber security services at Pynesec Technologies are ready to protect your digital infrastructure and keep you at ease. As we set out on our route to cyber resilience, be cautious and safe.