CVE-2026-105179 in Drug Recommendation System
Summary
by MITRE • 10/05/2026
A weakness has been identified in SourceCodester Drug Recommendation System 1.0. This affects an unknown function of the file Admin/add_user.php of the component Password Handler. Executing a manipulation of the argument Password can lead to missing encryption of sensitive data. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploit has been made available to the public and could be used for attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2026
The SourceCodester Drug Recommendation System version 1.0 contains a critical security flaw within its administrative interface, specifically located in the Admin/add_user.php file which handles user account creation. This vulnerability stems from an improper implementation of cryptographic functions when processing password inputs provided by administrators during new user registration or modification processes. The core technical deficiency lies in how the system validates and stores credential data before committing it to the database backend. Instead of applying a robust hashing algorithm with appropriate salting mechanisms, such as bcrypt, Argon2, or PBKDF2, the application fails to encrypt or hash the password argument effectively. This results in sensitive authentication credentials being stored in plaintext within the underlying database structure.
This architectural weakness constitutes a classic instance of CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials and CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information when considering broader data handling practices, though it is most directly categorized under CWE-256: Unprotected Storage of Credentials. The absence of cryptographic protection means that any individual with read access to the database can immediately retrieve valid usernames and their corresponding passwords without needing to perform complex cracking operations. This represents a severe degradation of confidentiality controls designed to protect user identity and system integrity against unauthorized access attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to its remote exploitability. Attackers do not need physical proximity or local shell access to leverage this flaw; they can initiate attacks from any network location provided there is an internet connection to the target server. If an attacker gains initial foothold through other vectors such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, or by compromising a lower-privileged account that has database read permissions, they can extract all user credentials in their original form. This facilitates credential stuffing attacks across multiple platforms if users reuse passwords, allows for direct unauthorized administrative access if the compromised accounts possess elevated privileges, and undermines trust in the application’s ability to safeguard personal health information given its nature as a drug recommendation system subject to regulations like HIPAA or GDPR depending on jurisdiction.
Furthermore, because exploit code has been made publicly available, automated scanning tools and malicious actors can rapidly identify vulnerable instances of this software across the internet. This lowers the barrier to entry for attackers significantly, increasing the likelihood of successful compromise even against systems with basic security postures that lack advanced threat detection mechanisms. The public availability of exploits means that defenders must prioritize remediation urgently rather than waiting for vendor patches or community-developed workarounds which may not fully address the root cause in custom deployments.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate code-level corrections and broader defensive measures. Developers must refactor the Admin/add_user.php script to ensure all password inputs are processed through a strong, adaptive hashing function before storage. It is imperative that salt values are generated uniquely for each user account to prevent rainbow table attacks even if the hash algorithm itself were theoretically broken. Additionally, implementing rate limiting on authentication endpoints and enforcing multi-factor authentication can reduce the impact of stolen credentials. From an infrastructure perspective, ensuring strict database access controls so that only application service accounts with minimal necessary privileges can interact with credential tables is essential. Regular security audits using static analysis tools configured to detect CWE-256 patterns will help prevent regression into this insecure state in future development cycles.