CMS Gallery WS Joomla SQL Injection

A SQL injection vulnerability exists in versions <= 1.3.6 of the Gallery WD Joomla component. The vulnerability is a result of insufficient input validation being applied to parameter values which are used in the construction of SQL query strings. Attackers can force XPath errors containing sensitive information extracted from the database, which are displayed as part of the error page that is returned to the attacker. Using this technique, unauthenticated remote attackers can exfiltrate sensitive information from the database.

Exploitation

Stages

1. An unauthenticated remote attacker sends a GET request with SQL syntax targeting the vulnerable page and parameters.
2. The parameter values are used to construct SQL query strings that are executed on the database, generating XPath errors.
3. The server responds with a ‘500’ error page and XPath error string containing extracted information. 

Prerequisites

The attacker must be able to send crafted packets to the target system.

Alert Logic Coverage

Alert Logic® has evaluated its customer base for exposure to the exploit and has developed signatures for mitigating the threat depending on the security service in place.

The Network-Based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) has been updated with the new signatures for this exploit when detected via Alert Logic Threat Manager™. If this signature is detected, an incident is generated in the Alert Logic console.

Detection of this threat is provided via Alert Logic ActiveWatch for Web Security Manager service. Depending on your deployment of Web Security Manager, you will receive an incident (for out-of-band deployment) or the threat will be actively blocked and rejected (for the inline Web Security Manager Premier deployment) if an exploit attempt is observed.

Recommendations for Mitigation

Upgrade to a non-vulnerable version to mitigate this vulnerability.