CVE-2024-33973 in School Attendance Monitoring System
Summary
by MITRE • 08/06/2024
SQL injection vulnerability in PayPal, Credit Card and Debit Card Payment affecting version 1.0. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted query to the server and retrieve all the information stored in it through the following 'Attendance' and 'YearLevel' in '/report/attendance_print.php' parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2024
This SQL injection vulnerability in the PayPal, Credit Card and Debit Card Payment plugin version 1.0 represents a critical security flaw that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the affected system. The vulnerability specifically manifests in the '/report/attendance_print.php' script where the 'Attendance' and 'YearLevel' parameters are not properly sanitized or validated before being incorporated into database queries. This weakness enables attackers to manipulate the SQL execution flow by injecting malicious SQL code through these parameters, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data stored within the database.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability follows the classic SQL injection pattern where user-supplied input is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper input validation or parameterization. When an attacker submits crafted payloads through the 'Attendance' or 'YearLevel' parameters, the application fails to escape special characters or use prepared statements, allowing the malicious input to alter the intended database query structure. This flaw falls under CWE-89 which specifically addresses SQL injection vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data retrieval as it could potentially allow attackers to extract complete database contents including user credentials, payment information, and personal data of individuals who have used the payment processing system. The exposure of attendance records and year level information suggests this system handles educational or organizational data, making the potential compromise particularly concerning for privacy and regulatory compliance. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform data exfiltration, modify database entries, or even escalate privileges within the affected system.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries throughout the application codebase. The most effective remediation involves replacing direct string concatenation with prepared statements or parameterized queries that separate the SQL command structure from the user input data. Additionally, implementing proper input sanitization, output encoding, and least privilege database access controls would significantly reduce the attack surface. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and regular security scanning to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while ensuring all third-party plugins and components are kept up to date with the latest security patches to prevent similar vulnerabilities from persisting in the system architecture.