CVE-2026-42208: BerriAI LiteLLM SQL Injection — Detection and Remediation Guide

---
title: Potential SQL Injection Attack on LiteLLM Endpoints
id: 8a4b2c12-6d8e-4f1a-9b3c-5d6e7f8a9b0c
status: experimental
description: Detects potential SQL injection attempts targeting LiteLLM API endpoints via URI query or body parameters.
references:
  - https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/05/08/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/05/08
tags:
  - attack.initial_access
  - attack.t1190
logsource:
  category: webserver
  product: apache
  # or nginx, iis, etc. - adjust logsource as needed for environment
detection:
  selection:
    c-uri|contains:
      - '/chat/completions'
      - '/key/generate'
      - '/completions'
    cs-uri-query|contains:
      - 'OR 1=1'
      - 'UNION SELECT'
      - '--'
      - '/*'
      - 'waitfor delay'
      - 'sleep('
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Developers testing inputs with SQL-like strings (rare)
level: high
---
title: Python Spawning Shell via SQL Injection
id: 9c5d3e21-7e9f-5a2b-0c4d-6e7f8a9b0c1d
status: experimental
description: Detects Python (often used by LiteLLM) spawning a shell process, which may indicate successful SQL injection leading to RCE or command execution.
references:
  - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/05/08
tags:
  - attack.execution
  - attack.t1059.004
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: linux
detection:
  selection_parent:
    ParentImage|endswith:
      - '/python3'
      - '/python'
      - '/uwsgi'
  selection_child:
    Image|endswith:
      - '/sh'
      - '/bash'
      - '/zsh'
      - '/nc'
      - '/netcat'
  condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate administrative tasks by developers
level: medium

// Hunt for SQLi patterns in HTTP requests to LiteLLM paths
let sqli_patterns = dynamic(["OR 1=1", "UNION SELECT", "WAITFOR DELAY", "SLEEP(", "BENCHMARK(", "EXEC(", "' OR '1'='1", "' OR '1'='1'--"]);
let litellm_paths = dynamic(["/chat/completions", "/key/generate", "/model/list", "/user/new"]);
CommonSecurityLog
| where RequestURL has_any (litellm_paths)
| where RequestURL has_any (sqli_patterns) or RequestMethod has_any (sqli_patterns) or additional_extensions has_any (sqli_patterns)
| project TimeGenerated, DeviceName, SourceIP, RequestURL, RequestMethod, DestinationPort
| order by TimeGenerated desc

-- Hunt for LiteLLM processes and suspicious command lines
SELECT Pid, Name, Exe, CommandLine, Username, Ctime
FROM pslist()
WHERE Name =~ 'python' 
  AND (CommandLine =~ 'litellm' OR CommandLine =~ 'uvicorn' OR CommandLine =~ 'gunicorn')

-- Hunt for recent access to LiteLLM database files (SQLite) if applicable
SELECT FullPath, Size, Mode, Mtime, Atime
FROM glob(globs='/*/*.db')
WHERE FullPath =~ 'litellm' 
  AND timestamp(epoch=Atime) > now() - duration("1h")

#!/bin/bash

# Remediation Script for CVE-2026-42208 (LiteLLM)
# Ensures LiteLLM is updated to the latest patched version

echo "[*] Checking for LiteLLM installation..."

# Check if litellm is installed
if ! command -v pip &> /dev/null && ! command -v pip3 &> /dev/null; then
    echo "[!] pip not found. Please ensure Python/pip is installed."
    exit 1
fi

PIP_CMD=$(command -v pip || command -v pip3)

# Check current version
CURRENT_VERSION=$($PIP_CMD show litellm 2>/dev/null | grep Version | awk '{print $2}')

if [ -z "$CURRENT_VERSION" ]; then
    echo "[!] LiteLLM is not installed in this Python environment."
else
    echo "[+] Current LiteLLM version found: $CURRENT_VERSION"
    echo "[*] Updating LiteLLM to latest version..."
    $PIP_CMD install --upgrade litellm
    
    NEW_VERSION=$($PIP_CMD show litellm 2>/dev/null | grep Version | awk '{print $2}')
    echo "[+] Updated LiteLLM version: $NEW_VERSION"
fi

echo "[*] Restarting LiteLLM service is required to apply patch."
echo "[*] Please run: systemctl restart litellm (or your equivalent container restart command)"