Summary
piccolo SQL Injection via named transaction savepoints
The handling of named transaction savepoints in all database implementations is vulnerable to SQL Injection as user provided input is passed directly to connection.execute(...) via f-strings.
Details
An excerpt of the Postgres savepoint handling:
async def savepoint(self, name: t.Optional[str] = None) -> Savepoint:
name = name or f"savepoint_{self.get_savepoint_id()}"
await self.connection.execute(f"SAVEPOINT {name}")
return Savepoint(name=name, transaction=self)
In this example, we can see user input is directly passed to connection.execute without being properly escaped.
All implementations of savepoints and savepoint methods directly pass this name parameter to connection.execute and are vulnerable to this. A non-exhaustive list can be found below:
Care should be given to ensuring all strings passed to connection.execute are properly escaped, regardless of how end user facing they may be.
Further to this, the following method also passes user input directly to an execution context however I have been unable to abuse this functionality at the time of writing. This method also has a far lower chance of being exposed to an end user as it relates to database init functionality.
PoC
The following FastAPI route can be used in conjunction with sqlmap to easily demonstrate the SQL injection.
DB = ...
@app.get("/test")
async def test(name):
async with DB.transaction() as transaction:
await transaction.savepoint(name)
Steps
- Create a standard Piccolo application with Postgres as a database backend
- Add the route shown previously
- Run your application, making a note of the URL it is served on
- Install sqlmap
- In a terminal, run the following command substituting URL with your applications URL:
sqlmap -u "http://URL/test?name=a" --batch - Observe sqlmap identifying the vulnerability
For sqlmap help, this usage guide may be useful. The following commands may also be helpful to see the impact.
Dumping all tables
The --tables flag will enumerate all tables accessible from within the exposed database session.
sqlmap -u "http://URL/test?name=a" --batch --tables
An example output of this can be seen in the following screenshot.
OS Shell
The --os-shell will drop the user into an OS shell on the underlying system if permissions permit. This can be seen in the attached screenshot which prints the databases current working directory.
Impact
While the likelihood of an end developer exposing a savepoints name parameter to a user is highly unlikely, it would not be unheard of. If a malicious user was able to abuse this functionality they would have essentially direct access to the database and the ability to modify data to the level of permissions associated with the database user.
A non exhaustive list of actions possible based on database permissions is:
- Read all data stored in the database, including usernames and password hashes
- Insert arbitrary data into the database, including modifying existing records
- Gain a shell on the underlying server
Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access. Typical impact: data disclosure or modification.
CVE-2023-47128 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.1.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-47128? CVE-2023-47128 is a critical-severity SQL injection vulnerability in piccolo (pip), affecting versions < 1.1.1. It is fixed in 1.1.1. Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access.
- How severe is CVE-2023-47128? CVE-2023-47128 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of piccolo are affected by CVE-2023-47128? piccolo (pip) versions < 1.1.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-47128? Yes. CVE-2023-47128 is fixed in 1.1.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-47128 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-47128 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-47128 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-47128? Upgrade
piccoloto 1.1.1 or later.