Sage-Tips

Why are SQL injection attacks still occurring on the web for the past 10 20 years?

Why is SQL injection still with us? It all comes down to a lack of understanding about how SQLi vulnerabilities work. The problem is that Web developers tend to think that database queries are coming from a trusted source, namely the database server itself.

Do SQL injections still happen?

Even though this vulnerability is known for over 20 years, it still ranks number 1 in OWASP’s Top 10 for web vulnerabilities. In 2019, 410 vulnerabilities with the type “SQL injections” have been accepted as a CVE. So the answer is: Yes, SQL injections are still a thing.

Why does SQL injection exist?

SQL injection attacks occur when a web application does not validate values received from a web form, cookie, input parameter, etc., before passing them to SQL queries that will be executed on a database server. SQL injection attack risk is usually very high and the consequences are severe.

How long has SQL injection been the top vulnerability?

The SQL injection vulnerability has been known for over seventeen (17) years, and the countermeasures are relatively simple compared to countermeasures for other threats like malware and viruses.

Why do so many data breaches still happen through SQL injection is there no fix?

There is no general fix for SQLi because there is no fix for human stupidity. There are established techniques which are easy to use and which fix the problems (especially parameter binding) but one still has to use these techniques. And many developers are simply not aware of security problems.

Why is SQL injection a problem?

SQL injection attacks allow attackers to spoof identity, tamper with existing data, cause repudiation issues such as voiding transactions or changing balances, allow the complete disclosure of all data on the system, destroy the data or make it otherwise unavailable, and become administrators of the database server.

How often does SQL injection occur?

The exercise shows that SQL injection (SQLi) now represents nearly two-thirds (65.1\%) of all Web application attacks.

What causes the most common SQL injection vulnerability?

But SQL injection vulnerabilities can in principle occur at any location within the query, and within different query types. The most common other locations where SQL injection arises are: In UPDATE statements, within the updated values or the WHERE clause. In INSERT statements, within the inserted values.

What is an SQL injection attack?

SQL injection is an attack in which malicious code is inserted into strings that are later passed to an instance of SQL Server for parsing and execution.

Which procedures should be reviewed for SQL injection vulnerabilities?

Any procedure that constructs SQL statements should be reviewed for injection vulnerabilities because SQL Server will execute all syntactically valid queries that it receives. Even parameterized data can be manipulated by a skilled and determined attacker.

Can injected SQL code be detected programmatically?

As long as injected SQL code is syntactically correct, tampering cannot be detected programmatically. Therefore, you must validate all user input and carefully review code that executes constructed SQL commands in the server that you are using.

What is second order SQL injection and how does it occur?

Second order SQL injection occurs when submitted values contain malicious commands that are stored rather than executed immediately. In some cases, the application may correctly encode an SQL statement and store it as valid SQL.