CVE-2024-5378 in School Intramurals Student Attendance Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 05/27/2024
A vulnerability was found in SourceCodester School Intramurals Student Attendance Management System 1.0. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /manage_sy.php. The manipulation of the argument id leads to sql injection. The attack can be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. VDB-266290 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-5378 represents a critical sql injection flaw within the SourceCodester School Intramurals Student Attendance Management System version 1.0. This system is designed to manage student attendance records for school intramural activities, making it a potentially attractive target for malicious actors seeking to compromise educational institution data. The vulnerability specifically resides in the /manage_sy.php file, which appears to handle system management functions including academic year management. The flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into sql queries, creating an avenue for attackers to manipulate database operations through crafted input parameters.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the id argument parameter, which is processed by the vulnerable php script. When an attacker submits a malicious value for the id parameter, the application incorporates this unsanitized input directly into sql query construction without proper input validation or parameterization. This creates a classic sql injection scenario where attacker-controlled data can alter the intended query structure, potentially allowing for data extraction, modification, or deletion. The remote exploitability of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to execute attacks, significantly expanding the potential attack surface and making the vulnerability particularly dangerous for web-hosted applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise, as it can lead to complete system infiltration and unauthorized access to sensitive student information. Educational institutions rely heavily on accurate attendance records for academic planning, disciplinary actions, and administrative purposes, making this vulnerability particularly concerning from a data integrity and privacy perspective. The disclosed exploit status means that malicious actors have already developed working methods to leverage this weakness, increasing the likelihood of actual exploitation. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-89 which categorizes sql injection flaws, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that should prevent direct user input from being incorporated into database queries without proper sanitization or parameterization techniques.
Organizations using this system should immediately implement mitigations including input validation, parameterized queries, and comprehensive code reviews to address the sql injection vulnerability. The recommended approach involves implementing proper input sanitization measures such as prepared statements with parameter binding, which would prevent user input from being interpreted as sql commands. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls, input validation at multiple layers, and regular security assessments would help protect against similar vulnerabilities. From an att&ck framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1190 - exploit public-facing application, and T1071.004 - application layer protocol, highlighting the need for comprehensive network security controls and application hardening measures. The vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of proper software development lifecycle security practices and regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate security flaws before they can be exploited by malicious actors in the wild.