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fix: parameterize product search query to close UNION SQL injection bug #338

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fix: parameterize product search query to close UNION SQL injection bug #338

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion routes/search.ts
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export function searchProducts () {
return (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
let criteria: any = req.query.q === 'undefined' ? '' : req.query.q ?? ''
criteria = (criteria.length <= 200) ? criteria : criteria.substring(0, 200)
models.sequelize.query(`SELECT * FROM Products WHERE ((name LIKE '%${criteria}%' OR description LIKE '%${criteria}%') AND deletedAt IS NULL) ORDER BY name`) // vuln-code-snippet vuln-line unionSqlInjectionChallenge dbSchemaChallenge
models.sequelize.query('SELECT * FROM Products WHERE ((name LIKE :criteria OR description LIKE :criteria) AND deletedAt IS NULL) ORDER BY name', { replacements: { criteria: `%${criteria}%` } }) // vuln-code-snippet vuln-line unionSqlInjectionChallenge dbSchemaChallenge

@devin-ai-integration devin-ai-integration Bot Sep 10, 2026

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🟡 Three advertised challenges become dysfunctional

Once searchProducts parameterizes criteria, User Credentials and Database Schema can never satisfy their only solver checks. Christmas Special also loses its in-application path for discovering the deleted product. All three remain enabled on the scoreboard.

Learn more

The User Credentials and Database Schema solvers inspect the returned search rows for all user credentials or all SQLite definitions. A literal search term cannot produce either dataset, so those challenge states never advance. Christmas Special relies on the same injectable search to reveal a paranoid-deleted product before adding it to a basket; its completion check still exists in placeOrder, but the supported discovery path is gone. The challenge catalog still defines all three without an applicable disablement, so they continue to appear as available exercises.

Example: A learner submits the documented ')) UNION SELECT ... FROM Users-- payload. The endpoint returns an empty list, User Credentials remains unsolved, and the scoreboard still presents it as completable.

Recommended fix: Remove or explicitly disable the affected challenge definitions, dependencies, snippets, and scoreboard entries when shipping the secured search. If these challenges must remain, move each intended vulnerability and solver to a dedicated training-only path and retain corresponding E2E coverage.

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.then(([products]: any) => {
const dataString = JSON.stringify(products)
if (challengeUtils.notSolved(challenges.unionSqlInjectionChallenge)) { // vuln-code-snippet hide-start
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10 changes: 7 additions & 3 deletions rsn/cache.json
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -689,7 +689,8 @@
2,
6,
7,
8
8,
9
]
},
"directoryListingChallenge_1_correct.ts": {
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1267,7 +1268,9 @@
},
"unionSqlInjectionChallenge_1.ts": {
"added": [],
"removed": []
"removed": [
6
]
Comment on lines +1271 to +1273

@devin-ai-integration devin-ai-integration Bot Sep 10, 2026

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🟡 RSN cache preserves stale codefixes

Locking the new RSN cache differences preserves stale codefixes for both affected coding challenges. Their snippets label a parameterized query vulnerable, while each _correct option searches for literal :criteria. Find It and Fix It now teach incorrect behavior.

Learn more

The RSN compares each live vulnerability snippet with its codefix variants. The changed cache records the new divergence instead of updating those variants. The live snippet is already parameterized but remains tagged as the vulnerable line, so Find It asks learners to identify a flaw that is absent. Both marked-correct files place :criteria inside a quoted SQL literal; Sequelize replacement parsing does not treat that as the live query's LIKE :criteria placeholder, so the option no longer preserves normal keyword search.

Example: A learner opens User Credentials Fix It after selecting the tagged line. The accepted option changes a search for apple into a query matching the literal pattern %:criteria%, rather than the live endpoint's %apple% behavior.

Recommended fix: Follow the repository's RSN workflow: manually update all unionSqlInjectionChallenge_* and dbSchemaChallenge_* variants, ensure each _correct file matches the secured query and preserves wildcard placement, and only then regenerate the cache. If the challenges are being retired, remove their snippet markers and codefix assets instead of locking stale differences.

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},
"unionSqlInjectionChallenge_2_correct.ts": {
"added": [
Expand All @@ -1285,7 +1288,8 @@
6,
7,
8,
9
9,
10
]
},
"weakPasswordChallenge_1_correct.ts": {
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114 changes: 19 additions & 95 deletions test/api/search.test.ts
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -39,141 +39,65 @@ void describe('/rest/products/search', () => {
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 1)
})

void it('GET product search fails with error message that exposes ins SQL Injection vulnerability', async () => {
void it('GET product search does not fail with an SQL error on a quote in the criteria', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=';")
assert.equal(res.status, 500)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('text/html'))
assert.ok(res.text.includes(`<h1>${config.get<string>('application.name')} (Express`))
assert.ok(res.text.includes('SQLITE_ERROR: near &quot;;&quot;: syntax error'))
})

void it('GET product search SQL Injection fails from two missing closing parenthesis', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=' union select id,email,password from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 500)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('text/html'))
assert.ok(res.text.includes(`<h1>${config.get<string>('application.name')} (Express`))
assert.ok(res.text.includes('SQLITE_ERROR: near &quot;union&quot;: syntax error'))
})

void it('GET product search SQL Injection fails from one missing closing parenthesis', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=') union select id,email,password from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 500)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('text/html'))
assert.ok(res.text.includes(`<h1>${config.get<string>('application.name')} (Express`))
assert.ok(res.text.includes('SQLITE_ERROR: near &quot;union&quot;: syntax error'))
})

void it('GET product search SQL Injection fails for SELECT * FROM attack due to wrong number of returned columns', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select * from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 500)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('text/html'))
assert.ok(res.text.includes(`<h1>${config.get<string>('application.name')} (Express`))
assert.ok(res.text.includes('SQLITE_ERROR: SELECTs to the left and right of UNION do not have the same number of result columns'))
})

void it('GET product search can create UNION SELECT with Users table and fixed columns', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select '1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
const match = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === '1' && item.name === '2' && item.description === '3' &&
item.price === '4' && item.deluxePrice === '5' && item.image === '6' &&
item.createdAt === '7' && item.updatedAt === '8'
)
assert.ok(match, 'Expected to find a row with fixed column values from UNION SELECT')
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
})

void it('GET product search can create UNION SELECT with Users table and required columns', async () => {
void it('GET product search treats a UNION SELECT payload as a literal search term', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select id,'2','3',email,password,'6','7','8','9' from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))

const adminMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 1 && item.price === `admin@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}` && item.deluxePrice === security.hash('admin123')
)
assert.ok(adminMatch, 'Expected admin user in UNION SELECT results')

const jimMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 2 && item.price === `jim@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}` && item.deluxePrice === security.hash('ncc-1701')
)
assert.ok(jimMatch, 'Expected jim user in UNION SELECT results')

const benderMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 3 && item.price === `bender@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}`
)
assert.ok(benderMatch, 'Expected bender user in UNION SELECT results')

const bjoernMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 4 && item.price === 'bjoern.kimminich@gmail.com' && item.deluxePrice === security.hash('bW9jLmxpYW1nQGhjaW5pbW1pay5ucmVvamI=')
)
assert.ok(bjoernMatch, 'Expected bjoern user in UNION SELECT results')

const cisoMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 5 && item.price === `ciso@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}` && item.deluxePrice === security.hash('mDLx?94T~1CfVfZMzw@sJ9f?s3L6lbMqE70FfI8^54jbNikY5fymx7c!YbJb')
)
assert.ok(cisoMatch, 'Expected ciso user in UNION SELECT results')

const supportMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 6 && item.price === `support@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}` && item.deluxePrice === security.hash('J6aVjTgOpRs@?5l!Zkq2AYnCE@RF$P')
)
assert.ok(supportMatch, 'Expected support user in UNION SELECT results')
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
})

void it('GET product search can create UNION SELECT with sqlite_master table and required column', async () => {
void it('GET product search cannot exfiltrate the users table via UNION SELECT', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select sql,'2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from sqlite_master--")
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select '1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from users--")
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)

const basketItemsMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 'CREATE TABLE `BasketItems` (`ProductId` INTEGER REFERENCES `Products` (`id`) ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE, `BasketId` INTEGER REFERENCES `Baskets` (`id`) ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE, `id` INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, `quantity` INTEGER, `createdAt` DATETIME NOT NULL, `updatedAt` DATETIME NOT NULL, UNIQUE (`ProductId`, `BasketId`))'
)
assert.ok(basketItemsMatch, 'Expected BasketItems CREATE TABLE in UNION SELECT results')

const sqliteSequenceMatch = res.body.data.find((item: any) =>
item.id === 'CREATE TABLE sqlite_sequence(name,seq)'
)
assert.ok(sqliteSequenceMatch, 'Expected sqlite_sequence CREATE TABLE in UNION SELECT results')
const dataString = JSON.stringify(res.body.data)
assert.ok(!dataString.includes(`admin@${config.get<string>('application.domain')}`))
assert.ok(!dataString.includes(security.hash('admin123')))
})

void it('GET product search cannot select logically deleted christmas special by default', async () => {
void it('GET product search cannot exfiltrate the database schema via UNION SELECT', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get('/rest/products/search?q=seasonal%20special%20offer')
.get("/rest/products/search?q=')) union select sql,'2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from sqlite_master--")
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
assert.ok(!JSON.stringify(res.body.data).includes('CREATE TABLE'))
})

void it('GET product search by description cannot select logically deleted christmas special due to forced early where-clause termination', async () => {
void it('GET product search cannot select logically deleted christmas special by default', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get("/rest/products/search?q=seasonal%20special%20offer'))--")
.get('/rest/products/search?q=seasonal%20special%20offer')
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
})

void it('GET product search can select logically deleted christmas special by forcibly commenting out the remainder of where clause', async () => {
void it('GET product search cannot select logically deleted christmas special by commenting out the remainder of the where clause', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get(`/rest/products/search?q=${christmasProduct.name}'))--`)
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 1)
assert.equal(res.body.data[0].name, christmasProduct.name)
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
})

void it('GET product search can select logically deleted unsafe product by forcibly commenting out the remainder of where clause', async () => {
void it('GET product search cannot select logically deleted unsafe product by commenting out the remainder of the where clause', async () => {
const res = await request(app)
.get(`/rest/products/search?q=${pastebinLeakProduct.name}'))--`)
assert.equal(res.status, 200)
assert.ok(res.headers['content-type']?.includes('application/json'))
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 1)
assert.equal(res.body.data[0].name, pastebinLeakProduct.name)
assert.equal(res.body.data.length, 0)
})

void it('GET product search with empty search parameter returns all products', async () => {
Expand Down
63 changes: 25 additions & 38 deletions test/cypress/e2e/search.spec.ts
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Expand Up @@ -31,49 +31,36 @@ describe('/#/search', () => {
})

describe('/rest/products/search', () => {
describe('challenge "unionSqlInjection"', () => {
it('query param in product search endpoint should be susceptible to UNION SQL injection attacks', () => {
cy.request(
"/rest/products/search?q=')) union select id,'2','3',email,password,'6','7','8','9' from users--"
)
cy.expectChallengeSolved({ challenge: 'User Credentials' })
})
})

describe('challenge "dbSchema"', () => {
it('query param in product search endpoint should be susceptible to UNION SQL injection attacks', () => {
cy.request(
"/rest/products/search?q=')) union select sql,'2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from sqlite_master--"
)
cy.expectChallengeSolved({ challenge: 'Database Schema' })
})
it('query param in product search endpoint should not be susceptible to UNION SQL injection attacks', () => {
cy.request(
"/rest/products/search?q=')) union select id,'2','3',email,password,'6','7','8','9' from users--"
)
.its('body')
.then((body) => {
expect(body.data).to.have.length(0)
})
})

describe('challenge "dlpPastebinLeakChallenge"', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
cy.login({
email: 'admin',
password: 'admin123'
it('query param in product search endpoint should not expose the database schema', () => {
cy.request(
"/rest/products/search?q=')) union select sql,'2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' from sqlite_master--"
)
.its('body')
.then((body) => {
expect(body.data).to.have.length(0)
})
})

it('search query should logically reveal the special product', () => {
cy.request("/rest/products/search?q='))--")
.its('body')
.then((sourceContent) => {
cy.task<Product>('GetPastebinLeakProduct').then((pastebinLeakProduct: Product) => {
let foundProduct = false
})

sourceContent.data.forEach((product: Product) => {
if (product.name === pastebinLeakProduct.name) {
foundProduct = true
}
})
// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-expressions
expect(foundProduct).to.be.true
})
it('search query should not reveal logically deleted products', () => {
cy.request("/rest/products/search?q='))--")
.its('body')
.then((sourceContent) => {
cy.task<Product>('GetPastebinLeakProduct').then((pastebinLeakProduct: Product) => {
const foundProduct = sourceContent.data.some((product: Product) => product.name === pastebinLeakProduct.name)
// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-expressions
expect(foundProduct).to.be.false
})
})
})
})

xdescribe('challenge "christmasSpecial"', () => {
Expand Down
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