Laravel SQL Injection: Risks, Best Code Practices, and How to Prevent It

Quick Summary: SQL injection attacks are a prevalent issue if we talk about the matter of Laravel security. If left unchecked, they can significantly affect the workflow of an entire web application. This blog outlines typical examples of SQL injection attacks and essential security measures to effectively combat them. Give this blog a thorough read to minimize the risk of SQL injection attacks by learning from common examples.

As a developer, it’s your duty to build powerful and secure applications for your end users. However, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your app data remains secure and safe. In fact, all data that has been utilized in your app is stored in SQL Server. To secure and protect your SQL Server, you must follow the best security practices.

Here, SQL injection remains one of the most critical vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to manipulate databases and access sensitive information. That’s why developers who build applications using PHP’s Laravel framework must understand the risks of SQL injection and implement best practices in order to prevent SQL injection vulnerability.

According to BuiltWith, Laravel stands out as one of PHP's most popular frameworks, with over 2.5 million live websites using it.

However, it's important to consider that Laravel can be optimized to the core but can also be exploited. SQL injection is an old and very common security issue in Laravel.

In this blog post, we will explain what is SQL injection in Laravel and how to prevent it. Also, we will go through some examples of Laravel SQL injection, along with steadfast practices on how to prevent other potential PHP vulnerabilities. Let's begin with it.

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What is a Laravel SQL Injection Attack?

SQL injection in Laravel is a type of cyber attack when an attacker manipulates SQL queries by injecting malicious data into a Laravel application’s database interactions. This allows attackers to retrieve data, modify database entries, and even execute administrative operations.

Let’s look at some of the SQL injection attacks that affect major organizations.

In 2011, Sony’s network was affected by a severe SQL injection vulnerability, which compromised their digital infrastructure. In fact, around 77 million PlayStation Network accounts were affected, costing Sony an estimated $170 million.

In the same way, in 2023, Microsoft SQL Servers were affected by SQL injection, which led to breach cloud environments. In fact, this lateral movement technique has been seen in attacks on servers like VMs and Kubernetes clusters.

Let’s learn how Laravel SQL injection attacks occur:

1. Usage of Raw SQL Queries

Embedding user input into SQL queries directly without detailed sanitization, validation, and parameter binding.

Let's take an example of the vulnerable code:

php  $username = $request->input('username');  $password = $request->input('password');  $user = DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '$username' AND password = '$password'");

In this example, if an attacker aims to provide malicious input like 'OR 1=1 --, the results will appear something like this:

sql  SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '' OR 1=1 --' AND password = ''

This can allow the malicious input to go for direct user input without a proper authentication check and return all users from the users table.

2. Insufficient Input Validation

Failing to conduct proper validation and sanitization of user inputs before embedding them into database queries.

Let’s take an example of the vulnerable code:

php  $username = $request->input('username'); $user = DB::select("SELECT \ FROM users WHERE username = '$username'");

If $username carries a malicious input like ' OR 1=1 --, it would lead to a SQL injection vulnerability.

Common Types of Laravel SQL Injection Attacks

Let's learn in detail about the common types of SQL injections in Laravel in order to enforce defensive security measures properly.

1. Basic SQL Injection

In Laravel, developers might write SQL queries to fetch data from the database. If these queries concatenate user input directly into the SQL statement, avoiding sanitization, it can increase the likelihood of SQL injection vulnerabilities in the database.

Here's an example:

php  $id = Input::get('id');  $user = DB::select('select * from users where id = ' . $id);

If an attacker provides id as 1; DROP TABLE users;, the manipulated SQL query looks something like this:

SQL  select * from users where id = 1; DROP TABLE users;

This would represent two SQL commands instead of one, which can lead to huge data loss.

2. Eloquent ORM Injection

Laravel's Eloquent ORM is created to safeguard SQL injection with the help of parameter binding and query building techniques. However, its misuse by using input directly without proper validation can create room for vulnerabilities.

Let’s take an example:

$username = Input::get('username');  $user = User::where('username', $username)->first();

If ‘username’ is manipulated to encompass SQL commands, such as admin' OR 1=1 --, the query is likely to retrieve unintended information or might end up allowing unauthorized access.

3. Raw SQL Queries

Developers might use raw SQL queries for specific requirements. If these queries end up concatenating user input directly, avoiding using Laravel's parameter binding capabilities, the chances of vulnerabilities increase.

Let’s take an example:

php  $username = Input::get('username');  $password = Input::get('password');  $user = DB::select('select \* from users where username = "'.$username.'" and password = "'.$password.'"');

If username or password includes malicious SQL commands, such as admin'--, it could alter the intended logic of the query.

4. Blind SQL Injection

There are also chances of attackers attempting blind SQL injection attacks by examining application responses to crafted queries, even if direct manipulation of queries is not feasible because of Laravel's built-in protection. This involves the usage of techniques to infer data from the application's responses to their injected queries.

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How to Prevent SQL Injection in Laravel

For robust Laravel SQL injection protection, you have to follow the OWASP Cheatsheet, which helps you secure your Laravel application.

It comes with:

• Eloquent ORM SQL Injection Protection
• Raw query SQL injection
• Column Name SQL Injection
• Validation Rule SQL Injection

1. Parameter Binding with Query Builder

Laravel's query builder offers a simple and secure option for creating SQL queries. This ensures that more priority is given to using parameter binding instead of concatenating raw user inputs into SQL queries. Parameter binding automatically takes care of escaping user inputs, preventing SQL injection attacks.

Check out the example:

php  $id = Input::get('id');  $user = DB::table('users')->where('id', $id)->first();

2. Eloquent ORM Usage

Eloquent ORM in Laravel safeguards your web apps against SQL injection attacks if used in a correct manner. Don't follow the practice of using raw inputs directly in Eloquent queries and entirely depend on Eloquent's query building abilities.

Check out the example:

php  $username = Input::get('username');  $user = User::where('username', $username)->first();

3. Input Validation and Sanitization

Always ensure that user inputs are validated and sanitized to verify if they adhere to the standard formats and types before embedding them directly into database queries. Laravel helps with a set of validation rules that can be deployed to incoming requests, which allows developers to ensure that inputs are safe and within acceptable bounds.

Check out the example:

php  $request->validate([  'id' => 'required | integer',  ]);  $id = $request->input('id');  $user = DB::table('users')->where('id', $id)->first();

4. Avoid Usage of Raw SQL Queries

Don't follow the practice of using raw SQL queries as much as possible. Instead, optimize Laravel's query builder or Eloquent ORM methods that are created to provide security against SQL injection attacks with the help of parameter building.

Check out the example:

php  $username = Input::get('username');  $password = Input::get('password');  $user = DB::table('users')  ->where('username', $username)  ->where('password', $password)  ->first();

5. Leverage Laravel’s Query Logging for Debugging

Enable query logging in your Laravel app while development to capture the actual SQL queries that are being executed. This allows developers to recognize unintended concatenation of user inputs into SQL statements.

In order to implement query logging, add the following to your AppServiceProvider:

php  public function boot()  {  DB::connection()->enableQueryLog();  }

6. Principle of Least Privilege

Always verify that database users and connections used by your Laravel application have the minimal permissions required to perform certain tasks related to their roles and responsibilities. This relatively decreases the risk of the potential impact of a successful SQL injection attack.

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How ZeroThreat Can Help You Prevent SQL Injection in Laravel

Laravel has established itself as quite a popular framework of PHP, and it's prevalent amongst the developers' community for its versatility and advanced features. Therefore, it’s essential to secure your Laravel apps against any vulnerabilities like SQL injection attacks.

While Laravel offers built-in protections like Eloquent ORM and Query Builder, ensuring complete security requires a proactive and comprehensive approach. ZeroThreat, an advanced vulnerability scanner, empowers developers to identify, prevent, and remediate SQL injection vulnerabilities effectively.

Its combination of automated penetration testing and DAST ensures that your app remains secure without sacrificing productivity. Ensure your application remains resilient against evolving threats with ZeroThreat. Sign up today and stay ahead of attackers.