Metadata

ID: go-security/sql-string-concatenation

Language: Go

Severity: Error

Category: Security

Description

Queries vulnerable to SQL injection should be avoided.

Consider this code snippet:

func main () {
    q := fmt.Sprintf("SELECT * FROM users where name = '%s'", username)
	rows, err := db.Query(q)
}

In this code snippet, the SQL query is dynamically constructed by directly injecting the username variable into the query string using string concatenation. This approach is dangerous because it allows an attacker to manipulate the value of username and potentially execute malicious SQL commands.

For example, if an attacker sets the username value to '; DROP TABLE users;--, the resulting constructed query will be:

SELECT * FROM users where name = ''; DROP TABLE users;--

This will result in the execution of two separate SQL statements: the first statement will retrieve all user records, and the second statement will drop the entire users table from the database.

To avoid SQL injection vulnerabilities, it is essential to use parameterized queries or prepared statements. These techniques separate the SQL query from user-supplied input and ensure that the input is treated only as data, not as executable SQL code.

Here’s an example of how the above code can be modified to use parameterized queries:

func main() {
    q := "SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = ?"
    rows, err := db.Query(q, username)
}

By using the ? placeholder in the SQL query and passing the username variable as a query parameter, the database driver takes care of properly escaping the input and preventing SQL injection attacks.

By following best practices and using parameterized queries or prepared statements, you can ensure the security and integrity of your database operations.

Non-Compliant Code Examples

func main () {
    q := "SELECT * FROM users where name = '"+username+"'"
	rows, err := db.Query(q)
}

Compliant Code Examples

func main () {
    q := "SELECT * FROM users where name = 'username'"
	rows, err := db.Query(q)
}

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