SQL Injection in SonicWall SMA100 SSL VPN
CVE-2021-20016 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 series / SSLVPN products affecting SMA100 build version 10.x. The flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to submit a specially crafted query to the appliance and perform unauthorized SQL queries against the backend data store. According to the provided content, successful exploitation can expose sensitive appliance data including usernames, passwords, and session-related information. Multiple sources in the content describe the issue as affecting unpatched SMA 100 series remote access products and note that SonicWall patched the vulnerability in February 2021.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
Repository purpose: a Python-based SonicWall “Security Audit Toolkit” plus a Docker CTF-style lab that simulates and (in solutions) exploits two critical SonicWall CVEs. Top-level structure: - sonicwall_audit.py: main orchestrator CLI that runs modules (ssl, cve, auth, web) against a target https://<host>:<port>, writes JSON/text reports to reports/. - validate_cves.py: standalone deep validators for CVE-2021-20038 and CVE-2024-53704 using non-destructive behavioral checks. - modules/: implementation of auditors/validators and report generation. - lab/: docker-compose lab with two containers: - cve-2021-20038: Apache + deliberately vulnerable 32-bit CGI binary /usr/lib/cgi-bin/sslvpnclient (and symlinks portal/welcome/etc). Protections disabled (no canary, execstack, no PIE, ASLR disabled in entrypoint) to make stack overflow exploitation feasible. - cve-2024-53704: Flask/Gunicorn SSLVPN simulator on 4433 with vulnerable swap cookie deserialization (conditional HMAC verification). - lab/exploits/: skeleton exploit templates (incomplete). - lab/solutions/: working exploits. Exploit capabilities present: 1) CVE-2024-53704 (auth bypass via cookie forgery): Working exploit forges a base64-encoded JSON session cookie named swap with {username, authenticated:true} and omits sig_version so the server skips HMAC verification. It then accesses /virtual-office/ and /dashboard to retrieve the flag. 2) CVE-2021-20038 (stack buffer overflow -> RCE): Working exploit crafts a URL-encoded query string payload to overflow a 4096-byte stack buffer in the CGI handler (strcpy of QUERY_STRING). Payload includes a NOP sled, null-free 32-bit x86 Linux shellcode that runs /bin//sh -c "cat /root/flag.txt", padding to offset 4100, and an attacker-chosen return address into the sled. Output is returned in the HTTP response body. Important distinction: the main toolkit modules and CVE validators are primarily scanners/validators and explicitly avoid destructive exploitation; the actual exploitation code is confined to the lab solution scripts intended for the local practice environment.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
18 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A SQL injection vulnerability in SonicWall SSLVPN SMA100.
A SonicWall SSLVPN vulnerability listed as an example of an internet-facing flaw implicated in ransomware incidents (2020–2022) and recommended for defenders to check and mitigate.
A SonicWall SSLVPN vulnerability listed as one of the observed vulnerabilities used in campaigns between 2020 and 2022.
A SonicWall SMA 100 series zero-day vulnerability (details not provided in the content) that was exploited in the wild and used to deploy FiveHands ransomware, including against SonicWall's internal systems.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.