CVE-2023-40944 in Schoolmate
Summary
by MITRE • 09/11/2023
Schoolmate 1.3 is vulnerable to SQL Injection in the variable $schoolname from Database at ~\header.php.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-40944 affects Schoolmate version 1.3, a web application designed for educational institutions. This particular flaw resides within the application's database interaction layer, specifically in the header.php file where the $schoolname variable is processed. The vulnerability represents a critical security weakness that could allow unauthorized individuals to manipulate the application's database queries through crafted input. The affected component operates within the web application's initialization phase, making it particularly dangerous as it could potentially compromise the entire database infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly escape or filter user-supplied data before incorporating it into database queries. This creates an environment where malicious actors can inject arbitrary SQL commands that the database will execute with the privileges of the application's database user.
The technical exploitation of this SQL injection vulnerability follows standard attack patterns where an attacker crafts malicious input that bypasses normal validation checks. The $schoolname variable in header.php serves as the entry point for database queries, and when this parameter receives unfiltered input, it becomes susceptible to manipulation. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform various malicious activities including data extraction, modification, or deletion of database records. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-89 which defines SQL injection as the insertion of malicious SQL code into input fields for execution by the database. This weakness allows for potential privilege escalation, data leakage, and complete database compromise depending on the underlying database system's configuration and the application's database user permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, encompassing potential system compromise and business disruption. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive educational data including student records, academic performance information, and administrative details. The attack could result in unauthorized modification of database entries, leading to data integrity issues that could affect academic records and institutional operations. The vulnerability affects the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges or gain administrative access to the system. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application, and T1071.005 - Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols, as it exploits web application vulnerabilities. The impact on educational institutions could be severe, potentially violating data protection regulations and compromising student privacy.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries. The application should immediately implement prepared statements or parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks, ensuring that user input is never directly concatenated into database commands. Input sanitization mechanisms must be strengthened to filter out potentially malicious characters and patterns that could be used in SQL injection attempts. The development team should conduct comprehensive code reviews and implement secure coding practices to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. The application should also implement proper error handling that does not reveal database structure information to users, as this could aid attackers in crafting more sophisticated attacks.