Severity: important

Description:

There are issues with the AGE drivers for Golang and Python that enable SQL 
injections to occur. This impacts AGE for PostgreSQL 11 & AGE for PostgreSQL 
12, all versions up-to-and-including 1.1.0, when using those drivers.

The fix is to update to the latest Golang and Python drivers in addition to the 
latest version of AGE that is used for PostgreSQL 11 orĀ  PostgreSQL 12.

The update of AGE will add a new function to enable parameterization of the 
cypher() function, which, in conjunction with the driver updates, will resolve 
this issue.

Background (for those who want more information):

After thoroughly researching this issue, we found that due to the nature of the 
cypher() function, it was not easy to parameterize the values passed into it. 
This enabled SQL injections, if the developer of the driver wasn't careful. The 
developer of the Golang and Pyton drivers didn't fully utilize 
parameterization, likely because of this, thus enabling SQL injections.

The obvious fix to this issue is to use parameterization in the drivers for all 
PG SQL queries. However, parameterizing all PG queries is complicated by the 
fact that the cypher() function call itself cannot be parameterized directly, 
as it isn't a real function. At least, not the parameters that would take the 
graph name and cypher query.

The reason the cypher() function cannot have those values parameterized is 
because the function is a placeholder and never actually runs. The cypher() 
function node, created by PG in the query tree, is transformed and replaced 
with a query tree for the actual cypher query during the analyze phase. The 
problem is that parameters - that would be passed in and that the cypher() 
function transform needs to be resolved - are only resolved in the execution 
phase, which is much later. Since the transform of the cypher() function needs 
to know the graph name and cypher query prior to execution, they can't be 
passed as parameters.

The fix that we are testing right now, and are proposing to use, is to create a 
function that will be called prior to the execution of the cypher() function 
transform. This new function will allow values to be passed as parameters for 
the graph name and cypher query. As this command will be executed prior to the 
cypher() function transform, its values will be resolved. These values can then 
be cached for the immediately following cypher() function transform to use. As 
added features, the cached values will store the calling session's pid, for 
validation. And, the cypher() function transform will clear this cached 
information after function invocation, regardless of whether it was used.

This method will allow the parameterizing of the cypher() function indirectly 
and provide a way to lock out SQL injection attacks.

References:

https://age.apache.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-45786

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