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Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

CVE-2021-41187

High
8.8/10

Summary

DHIS 2 is an information system for data capture, management, validation, analytics and visualization. A SQL injection security vulnerability has been found in specific versions of DHIS2. This vulnerability affects the API endpoints for /api/trackedEntityInstances and api/events in DHIS2. The system is vulnerable to attack only from users that are logged in to DHIS2, and there is no known way of exploiting the vulnerability without first being logged in as a DHIS2 user. A successful exploit of this vulnerability could allow the malicious user to read, edit and delete data in the DHIS2 instance. There are no known exploits of the security vulnerabilities addressed by these patch releases. However, we strongly recommend that all DHIS2 implementations using versions 2.32, 2.33, 2.34, 2.35 and 2.36 install these patches as soon as possible. There is no straightforward known workaround for DHIS2 instances using the Tracker functionality other than upgrading the affected DHIS2 server to one of the patches in which this vulnerability has been fixed. For implementations which do NOT use Tracker functionality, it may be possible to block all network access to POST to the /api/trackedEntityInstance and /api/events endpoints as a temporary workaround while waiting to upgrade.

  • LOW
  • NETWORK
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • LOW
  • HIGH
  • HIGH

CWE-89 - SQL Injection

Structured Query Language (SQL) injection attacks are one of the most common types of vulnerabilities. They exploit weaknesses in vulnerable applications to gain unauthorized access to backend databases. This often occurs when an attacker enters unexpected SQL syntax in an input field. The resulting SQL statement behaves in the background in an unintended manner, which allows the possibility of unauthorized data retrieval, data modification, execution of database administration operations, and execution of commands on the operating system.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published