CVE-2026-103543 in Leave Management System
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
A vulnerability has been found in itsourcecode Leave Management System 1.0. The affected element is an unknown function of the file /module/leavetype/controller.php. Such manipulation of the argument LEAVTID leads to sql injection. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The itsourcecode Leave Management System version 1.0 contains a critical security flaw within its administrative module, specifically located in the file /module/leavetype/controller.php. This vulnerability manifests as an SQL injection weakness resulting from improper handling of user-supplied input passed via the LEAVTID argument. The root cause lies in the application's failure to properly sanitize or parameterize this specific variable before incorporating it into database queries. Because the system directly concatenates or interpolates the unvalidated LEAVTID value into an SQL statement, attackers can inject malicious SQL code that alters the intended logic of the query. This type of flaw is a classic example of CWE-89 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command allowing for significant data manipulation and unauthorized access to backend database contents.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its remote exploitability. An attacker does not require authentication or physical proximity to the server to launch an attack, making it accessible over standard network protocols such as HTTP. By manipulating the LEAVTID parameter in a web request, a malicious actor can extract sensitive data from the database, including user credentials, personal employee information stored within the leave management system, and potentially administrative configuration details. In more advanced scenarios, if the underlying database engine permits it, this SQL injection could be leveraged to execute operating system commands on the server hosting the application, leading to a complete compromise of the infrastructure. The fact that public exploits have been disclosed significantly lowers the barrier for entry, allowing less skilled threat actors to utilize existing tools and scripts to target vulnerable instances without needing to develop custom attack vectors from scratch.
From a tactical perspective, this vulnerability aligns with MITRE ATT&CK techniques related to SQL Injection attacks used for data exfiltration or privilege escalation. The ability to remotely manipulate database queries places this flaw in the category of initial access or credential harvesting depending on the specific payload executed by the attacker. Organizations relying on this open-source leave management system are at high risk, particularly if it is deployed with default configurations that may expose debug information or lack additional security layers such as Web Application Firewalls configured to detect SQL injection patterns. The public availability of exploits means that automated scanning tools and opportunistic attackers will likely target known instances of itsourcecode Leave Management System 1.0 in the near future, increasing the urgency for remediation.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate action is required at both the code level and infrastructure level. Developers must refactor the affected controller.php file to implement prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of direct string concatenation when interacting with the database regarding LEAVTID inputs. This ensures that user input is treated strictly as data rather than executable SQL commands. Additionally, implementing strict input validation on all parameters, particularly those related to identifiers like leave types, can provide a secondary layer of defense by rejecting unexpected or malformed characters before they reach the query builder. For system administrators unable to immediately patch the source code, deploying a Web Application Firewall with rules specifically tuned to detect and block SQL injection payloads targeting the LEAVTID parameter is recommended as an interim mitigation strategy. Regular security audits and static application security testing should also be integrated into the development lifecycle to prevent similar flaws in future updates or forks of this software.