HIGH 7.6 npm

Budibase: MySQL DESCRIBE Backtick Injection via multipleStatements in Database Connector

GHSA-2xgg-r2wc-c5r2

Published · Modified

Description

Summary

This is a related but independently fixable vulnerability to GHSA-qqf5-x7mj-v43p
(PostgreSQL SQL injection), reported in the same original disclosure and
split per GitHub CNA guidance (rule 4.2.11) since it affects a separate
integration, has a distinct attack precondition, and requires a separate
patch.

The MySQL integration enables multipleStatements: true on the connection,
permitting semicolon-separated multi-statement execution. During table
introspection, table names retrieved from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES are
interpolated into a DESCRIBE query wrapped in backticks, but embedded
backticks in the table name are never escaped — allowing a malicious table
name to break out and inject a second, attacker-controlled statement.

Details

Vulnerable Code:
File: packages/server/src/integrations/mysql.ts, lines 172, 305

this.config = { ...config, multipleStatements: true, ... }  // line 172
...
{ sql: `DESCRIBE \`${tableName}\`;` }  // line 305 — backtick NOT escaped

Because multipleStatements is enabled, any statement appended after the
backtick break-out executes as a second query in the same round trip.

Step-by-Step Reproduction

  1. An attacker with the ability to create tables in the target MySQL
    database (e.g. a lower-privileged database user, or a malicious actor in
    a multi-tenant database) creates a table named:
    foo`; DROP TABLE users; --
  2. In Budibase, an administrator triggers schema introspection for that
    database (e.g. opening the datasource or refreshing its table list).
  3. Budibase reads the malicious table name from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
    and interpolates it into the DESCRIBE query.
  4. The unescaped backtick terminates the identifier early, and the
    semicolon-separated payload (enabled by multipleStatements: true)
    executes as a second statement.

Impact

Arbitrary SQL execution triggered during routine schema discovery. Unlike
the PostgreSQL and MS SQL Server findings, this does not require the
attacker to control the Budibase datasource configuration directly — only
the ability to create a maliciously named table in the underlying database
beforehand, with an administrator's normal use of the introspection feature
serving as the trigger.

Ready to move

Start Securing

Free, no credit card | First findings in minutes