AstrotalksApplication · Codester

CVE-2024-5523

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
SQL injection vulnerability in Astrotalks affecting version 10/03/2023. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated local user to send a specially crafted SQL query to the 'searchString' parameter and retrieve all information stored in the database.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in Astrotalks version 10/03/2023 allows an authenticated local user to inject malicious SQL queries through the 'searchString' parameter, potentially enabling extraction of all database contents.

MitigationFix by replacing dynamic SQL queries with parameterized queries/prepared statements, implementing strict input validation on the searchString parameter, and applying principle of least privilege to database accounts.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AstrotalksApplication
Affected:= 2023-10-03

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Astrotalks installation
    Locate Astrotalks application files on the server. Check common web directories (htdocs, www, public_html) for an 'astrotalks' folder or check the application codebase for astrotalks-specific files.
    Affected if Astrotalks is installed on the system
  2. Identify installed version
    Search for version information in the application. Check for version files, about pages, or metadata files within the Astrotalks installation directory. Look for build timestamps or release date markers matching 2023-10-03.
    Affected if Installed version is exactly 2023-10-03 or earlier releases from that date
  3. Verify searchString parameter exists
    Examine the application source code for endpoints that accept a 'searchString' parameter, particularly in search functionality. Review PHP/ASP files handling search requests and identify if the parameter is used in database queries.
    Affected if The searchString parameter is present and used in dynamic SQL queries without parameterization
  4. Confirm local user authentication is enabled
    Check if local user registration or account creation is enabled in Astrotalks. Verify that the application allows local user accounts to authenticate, as this CVE requires an authenticated user to exploit the SQL injection.
    Affected if Local user accounts can be created or exist and can authenticate to access the search functionality

The system is affected if Astrotalks version 2023-10-03 is installed, the searchString parameter exists in the application, and local user authentication is available to provide an attacker with the required access level.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Fix by replacing dynamic SQL queries with parameterized queries/prepared statements, implementing strict input validation on the searchString parameter, and applying principle of least privilege to database accounts.

Fix this in Astrotalks Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-5523 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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