CVE-2023-6653 in Teacher Subject Allocation Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 12/10/2023
A vulnerability was found in PHPGurukul Teacher Subject Allocation Management System 1.0. It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file /admin/subject.php of the component Create a new Subject. The manipulation of the argument cid leads to cross-site request forgery. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. VDB-247346 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-6653 affects the PHPGurukul Teacher Subject Allocation Management System version 1.0, specifically targeting the administrative functionality related to subject creation. This cross-site request forgery vulnerability exists within the /admin/subject.php file where the cid parameter is improperly validated, creating a security gap that allows attackers to manipulate the system through malicious requests. The flaw represents a critical weakness in the application's authorization mechanisms, as it fails to properly verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the cid argument within the Create a new Subject functionality. When an attacker crafts a malicious request containing a manipulated cid parameter, the system processes this input without proper CSRF token verification or request origin validation. This allows unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated administrators, potentially enabling attackers to create, modify, or delete subject allocations within the educational management system. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and demonstrates poor input sanitization practices that violate fundamental security principles.
Operationally, this CSRF vulnerability poses significant risks to the integrity of the educational management system's subject allocation processes. An attacker could exploit this weakness to add unauthorized subjects, modify existing subject configurations, or disrupt the normal flow of academic scheduling. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or network to launch attacks, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in web-facing applications. The disclosure of this exploit in public repositories increases the likelihood of real-world exploitation and may lead to cascading impacts on academic planning and administrative operations.
Security mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust CSRF protection mechanisms including the use of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each request. The application should enforce strict input validation for all parameters including cid, implement proper request origin checking, and ensure that all administrative actions require explicit authorization verification. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as rate limiting, monitoring for suspicious request patterns, and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for the initial access phase through malicious web content. The remediation process should include comprehensive code review to identify other potential CSRF vulnerabilities within the application and implementation of security headers such as Content Security Policy to further protect against similar attacks.