CWE-943: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic

What is Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic?

• Overview: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic (CWE-943) occurs when applications generate queries to access or manipulate data in a database but fail to properly handle special characters that can alter the logic of these queries. This can lead to unintended data retrieval or modification.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by injecting additional logic into a query, such as modifying selection criteria or appending extra commands.
• Common attack patterns include SQL injection, where attackers input special characters or commands to manipulate query results, and similar techniques in other query languages like LDAP, XQuery, and NoSQL injections.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences include unauthorized access to data, data manipulation, or data leakage.
• Potential cascading effects include exploitation of application logic, leading to privilege escalation or unauthorized actions.
• Business impact could involve data breaches, loss of customer trust, financial penalties, and legal consequences.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes include using parameterized queries or prepared statements to ensure that user inputs are treated as data rather than executable code.
• Security best practices involve validating and sanitizing all inputs to remove or neutralize special characters that could alter query logic.
• Recommended tools and frameworks include ORM tools that abstract query construction and libraries that provide safe methods for handling queries, such as using secure database connectors and frameworks like Hibernate for Java or Entity Framework for .NET.

Corgea can automatically detect and fix Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic in your codebase. Try Corgea free today.

Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not Language-Specific

Affected Technologies: Not specified

Vulnerable Code Example

// Vulnerable code: Improper neutralization of special elements in query logic
function getUserData(username) {
    // Directly embedding user input into the query string without sanitization or validation
    const query = `SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '\${username}'`; // Vulnerable to SQL injection
    database.execute(query, (err, result) => {
        if (err) {
            console.error('Database error:', err);
        } else {
            console.log('User data:', result);
        }
    });
}

// User input that can manipulate the query logic, leading to SQL injection
getUserData("admin' OR '1'='1");

In this vulnerable example, user input is directly embedded into the SQL query string. This allows an attacker to manipulate the query logic by injecting special characters or SQL keywords, potentially leading to unauthorized data access.

How to fix Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Data Query Logic?

To fix this vulnerability, avoid directly embedding user inputs in SQL queries. Use parameterized queries or prepared statements to ensure user inputs are treated as data, not executable code. This prevents SQL injection attacks by ensuring special characters in user inputs do not alter the intended logic of the query.

Fixed Code Example

// Fixed code: Using parameterized queries to safely handle user input
function getUserData(username) {
    // Using a parameterized query to prevent SQL injection
    const query = 'SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?'; // Parameterized query
    database.execute(query, [username], (err, result) => {
        if (err) {
            console.error('Database error:', err);
        } else {
            console.log('User data:', result);
        }
    });
}

// Even with malicious input, the query logic remains intact
getUserData("admin' OR '1'='1");

In the fixed code, a parameterized query is used with a placeholder ? for the username. This placeholder is safely replaced with the user input by the database library. This approach prevents any special characters in the input from affecting the query logic, thus mitigating the risk of SQL injection attacks.