CVE-2024-0735 in Online Tours & Travels Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 01/19/2024
A vulnerability was found in SourceCodester Online Tours & Travels Management System 1.0. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is the function exec of the file admin/operations/expense.php. The manipulation leads to sql injection. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. VDB-251558 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-0735 represents a critical sql injection flaw within the SourceCodester Online Tours & Travels Management System version 1.0. This vulnerability resides in the exec function of the admin/operations/expense.php file, making it a particularly dangerous exposure for systems running this software. The critical rating indicates the severity of potential impact, as sql injection vulnerabilities can allow attackers to execute arbitrary database commands and potentially gain complete control over the underlying database system. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not need physical access to the system to carry out attacks, significantly expanding the attack surface and potential impact.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the exec function, which processes user-supplied data without proper escaping or parameterization. When malicious input is passed to this function, it gets directly incorporated into sql queries without adequate protection mechanisms. This allows attackers to inject malicious sql code that can manipulate database operations, extract sensitive information, modify or delete data, or even escalate privileges within the database environment. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-89 which specifically addresses sql injection flaws, and follows the ATT&CK framework's T1190 technique for exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications. The disclosure of the exploit through VDB-251558 indicates that threat actors have already developed working attack vectors against this specific flaw.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it can lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive travel and customer information. The online tours and travels management system likely contains personal data of travelers, payment information, booking details, and other confidential business data that could be accessed by attackers. Remote exploitation capability means that attackers can target vulnerable systems from anywhere on the internet, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations that do not maintain proper network segmentation or monitoring. The attack could result in financial loss, regulatory compliance violations, reputational damage, and potential legal consequences due to data breaches involving customer information.
Organizations running this software must implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest available security patches from the vendor, implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries in the affected code, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious sql injection attempts. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit access to administrative functions, and comprehensive monitoring should be implemented to detect unusual database activity patterns. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the system. The remediation process should follow industry standards such as OWASP Top Ten guidelines for preventing sql injection attacks, ensuring that all user inputs are properly sanitized and that database connections use prepared statements or parameterized queries to prevent malicious code execution.