CVE-2023-5010 in Student Information System
Summary
by MITRE • 12/20/2023
Student Information System v1.0 is vulnerable to multiple Authenticated SQL Injection vulnerabilities. The 'coursecode' parameter of the marks.php resource does not validate the characters received and they are sent unfiltered to the database.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2025
The Student Information System v1.0 presents a critical security weakness through its handling of database inputs in the marks.php resource. This vulnerability manifests as an authenticated SQL injection flaw that specifically targets the 'coursecode' parameter, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate database queries through crafted input. The system fails to implement proper input validation or sanitization mechanisms, allowing unfiltered user-supplied data to directly reach the database layer without adequate security measures.
This authentication-based SQL injection vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into database queries without proper sanitization. The flaw enables attackers who have already established authentication credentials to execute arbitrary database commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion. The vulnerability's impact is amplified because it requires only authenticated access, meaning that any user with valid credentials can exploit this weakness to compromise database integrity and confidentiality.
The operational implications of this vulnerability extend beyond simple data theft, as it can enable attackers to escalate their privileges within the system or extract sensitive information from the database. The unfiltered nature of the 'coursecode' parameter means that malicious payloads can be constructed to perform union-based attacks, time-based blind injections, or direct command execution depending on the underlying database system. This weakness directly aligns with tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1071.004 technique for application layer protocol manipulation, where attackers exploit application vulnerabilities to manipulate database interactions.
Organizations utilizing this system should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameterized queries, and proper database access controls. The solution requires filtering all user-supplied input through strict validation routines that reject potentially harmful characters and implement prepared statements to prevent query injection. Additionally, access controls should be reviewed to ensure that database connections use minimal required privileges, preventing attackers from executing destructive commands even if they successfully exploit the vulnerability. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar patterns in other system components that may present analogous security risks.