Sql Injection Challenge 5 Security Shepherd Jun 2026

The third single quote ( ' ) remains unescaped, ending the coupon_code string validation block early.

Use strict validation to ensure the input matches the expected format (e.g., ensuring an email is actually an email).

When approaching any challenge, you can apply a consistent methodology to systematically identify and exploit the vulnerability:

Username: admin' '1'='1

-- Vulnerable SQL Query SELECT coupon_name, discount_value FROM coupons WHERE user_email = '[USER_INPUT]'; Use code with caution. If you submit 1@1.1' OR '1'='1 , the query becomes:

: Use a payload that includes a backslash before a single quote to neutralize the server's escaping logic. Recommended Payload \' OR 1=1; -- Alternative Payload \" or ""=" (if double quotes are used in the query) Bypass Logic Explained You input: The server "escapes" the single quote, changing it to: The database sees as an escaped backslash and then treats the following

But wait – you can use without SELECT ? No, UNION requires SELECT . Sql Injection Challenge 5 Security Shepherd

You'll need a web browser and, optionally, a tool like Burp Suite to intercept and modify HTTP requests. Burp Suite is particularly useful for seeing the exact structure of the request and for experimenting with different payloads quickly.

SELECT coupon_code FROM coupons WHERE coupon_code = 'USER_INPUT'; Use code with caution. 2. Test the Sanitization Filter

The key difference in this challenge is often the lack of verbose SQL error messages. Unlike the "Low" or "Medium" challenges where syntax errors might reveal the database structure, Challenge 5 often implements a "Silent" error handling mechanism. If your SQL syntax is wrong, the page simply returns nothing or a generic error, rather than a database stack trace. The third single quote ( ' ) remains

If the challenge uses a single quote filter, you may need to use hex encoding: FROM administrators WHERE admin_user=0x61646d696e (hex for 'admin')

The application will execute the query. Instead of showing the search results for the original query, it will inject the result of our second query. The password (or flag) for the Admin user will appear in the spot where the username or other data is usually displayed on the webpage.

Without SELECT , we can use:

If the application displays query results directly, a UNION select attack is highly effective.

in OWASP Security Shepherd is designed to test your ability to perform a UNION-Based SQL Injection . Unlike simpler challenges where you might just log in, this challenge usually requires you to extract specific data (like a password or a specific key) from the database and display it on the screen.