Injection

The injection is a vulnerability originated from the use of any input without being sanitized in a piece of code processed in the application. These attacks are commonly used by hackers to gain access to sensitive data, disrupt workflows, or take control of a system.

There are lots of different types of injections vulnerabilities, and almost all of them are very critical. Since this vulnerability allows an attacker to inject a payload or a piece of code into the actual workflow, the applications can respond as the attacker wish.

Among these, SQL injection stands out as a common method where attackers exploit weaknesses by injecting malicious SQL code into user input fields. This unauthorized act can result in data manipulation, unauthorized access, or even complete control over the database.

Another type is cross-site scripting (XSS), which occurs when an attacker injects malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This can enable the attacker to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or personal data, from unsuspecting users.

Additionally, command injection is another type of vulnerability where an attacker injects malicious commands into a system or application that processes user input. This can allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the target system, potentially leading to unauthorized access or system compromise.

Some other types of injection vulnerabilities are;

Host Header Injection: Occurs when headers from users input is not properly sanitized.
XXE Vulnerabilities: Occurs when an attacker exploits a web application's XML processing, potentially viewing server files or interacting with back-end systems, sometimes escalating to compromise the server via server-side request forgery (SSRF).
CRLF Injection Vulnerabilities: Occurs when an attacker injects CRLF characters into a web application, potentially leading to malicious attacks like XSS, web cache poisoning, and log poisoning by exploiting the End of Line (EOL) sequence used in certain operating systems and protocols.
File Inclusion Vulnerabilities: Occurs when a web application permits users to input data into files or upload files, potentially enabling attackers to read or execute files on the server due to poorly-implemented safeguards.

Also, there are other injection vulnerabilities named with related technologies such as XPATH Injection, GraphQL Injection, XXE Injection, NoSQL Injection, and more.

Generally, if attackers can inject any piece of code, it endangered application, databases, and system itself completely. Depending on the category of injection, sometimes attackers may not be able to inject an actual piece of code. Yet, they may force applications to respond differently (return codes, error messages, response time, etc.) with sending special payloads. Even if the critical level of vulnerability does not change, retrieving data from the application may take much more time.

To prevent injection attacks, it is crucial to implement secure coding practices, the following topics should be taken into consideration (precedence of the case might change to vulnerability state and application's specifications):

Validating user input: All user input should be validated to ensure it matches the expected format and type.
Limiting privileges: Applications should only have access to the minimum privileges necessary for their intended function.
Sanitizing input: Any user input should be sanitized, meaning that any potentially malicious characters are removed before being processed by the application.
Implementing a white-list strategy is generally should be preferred.
Part of applications and services must be configured by less privileged principle (for example, Services should not run as high privileged users such as root or system.
Rate limiting, monitoring, and a proper logging mechanism should be implemented.

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) Regarding Injection Vulnerabilities

In the world of software and computer systems, there are common mistakes or weak spots that developers might accidentally introduce. These mistakes can make the software or system vulnerable to attacks or failures.
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a big list of all these common mistakes, so that developers could check against it and avoid making the same errors.

CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

This CWE describes the vulnerability that occurs when an application uses untrusted input to build a command for execution on an operating system. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious commands into the application, potentially gaining unauthorized access or causing damage.

CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

This CWE refers to the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly sanitize user input before displaying it on a web page. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into the page, potentially stealing sensitive information or taking control of the user's session.

CWE-88: Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')

This CWE describes the vulnerability that occurs when an application fails to properly validate user input used in a command or function call. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting additional arguments into the command, potentially causing unintended behavior or unauthorized access.

CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

This CWE refers to the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly sanitize user input used in SQL queries. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious SQL statements, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or modifying database contents.

CWE-90: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an LDAP Query ('LDAP Injection')

This CWE describes the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly sanitize user input used in LDAP queries. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious LDAP statements, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or modifying directory contents.

CWE-91: XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection)

This CWE refers to the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly sanitize user input used in XML queries or transformations. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious structures into the XML document, potentially causing unintended behavior or exposing sensitive information.

CWE-93: Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection')

This CWE describes the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly validate user input used to control output. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting new lines or carriage returns into web pages, potentially causing cross-site scripting(XSS) attacks or other malicious activities.

CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

This CWE refers to the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly validate user input used in dynamically generated code. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious code into the system, potentially gaining control of the application or causing it to perform unintended actions.

CWE-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')

This CWE refers to the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly validate user input used in expression language statements. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting malicious expressions, potentially causing unintended behavior or exposing sensitive information.

CWE-619: Dangling Database Cursor ('Cursor Injection')

This CWE describes the vulnerability that occurs when an application does not properly close or reset database cursors after use. Attackers can exploit this weakness by injecting additional queries into the cursor, potentially causing unintended database operations or exposing sensitive information.

The Top 20 Injection Scanning Tools

The Top 20 injection vulnerabilities scanning tools that is used by our members:

Get started to protecting your Free Full Security Scan

Start trial See the plans