Course

The Code Review Patch challenges equip participants with both the vulnerable code and its corresponding patch. The primary goal is to identify the security issue within the code independently before reviewing the patch. This exercise encourages a deeper understanding of common vulnerabilities and the thought process behind identifying and resolving them.

In this specific lab, the vulnerable code is from the `DatabaseCookieAuthenticatorAction` class in an Apache Cocoon module. The vulnerability is a classic example where SQL queries are constructed using user input without proper sanitization, leading to potential SQL injection attacks. The patch provided addresses this by replacing the `Statement` usage with `PreparedStatement`, ensuring that user inputs are properly parameterized and reducing the risk of SQL injection.