CVE-2026-86162 in Online Voting System
Summary
by MITRE • 09/06/2026
A vulnerability was determined in SourceCodester Online Voting System 1.0. This affects an unknown function of the file /ajax.php?action=login. Executing a manipulation of the argument Username can lead to sql injection. The attack can be executed remotely. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and may be utilized.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2026
The SourceCodester Online Voting System version 1.0 contains a critical security flaw within its authentication mechanism, specifically located in the ajax.php file when handling login requests via the action=login parameter. This vulnerability is classified as an SQL injection, which corresponds to CWE-89 in the Common Weakness Enumeration standard. The root cause of this issue lies in the improper validation and sanitization of user-supplied input before it is incorporated into database queries. When a remote attacker submits a manipulated Username argument during the login process, the application fails to properly escape special characters or use parameterized queries. This allows the injected SQL code to be interpreted by the underlying database management system as part of the original query structure rather than as literal data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe because it affects the core authentication logic of the voting system. An attacker can exploit this flaw to bypass administrative controls, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the application without valid credentials. Beyond simple authentication bypass, successful exploitation allows for arbitrary reading and modification of database contents. This includes extracting sensitive information such as voter records, administrator passwords stored in plaintext or weak hashes, and other confidential data maintained by the system. In the context of an online voting platform, this compromise undermines the integrity of the election process, allowing attackers to alter vote counts, delete evidence of their activities, or manipulate outcomes entirely.
From a tactical perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several techniques in the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The initial exploitation phase corresponds to T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application, as the flaw is accessible remotely through standard web interfaces. Once access is gained, the attacker may engage in T1078 Valid Accounts if they use extracted credentials for persistent access or T1530 Data from Information Repositories when exfiltrating data directly from the database. The public disclosure of exploits for this vulnerability significantly increases the risk landscape, as automated scanning tools and malicious actors can readily deploy known payloads to compromise vulnerable instances without requiring custom development efforts.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate remediation and long-term security posture improvements. The primary fix involves refactoring the affected code in ajax.php to use prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions involving user input. This ensures that data is treated strictly as data, preventing SQL injection regardless of the content provided by the client. Additionally, implementing strict input validation on the server side can provide a defense-in-depth layer, rejecting any username fields containing characters commonly associated with SQL attacks such as single quotes or semicolons. Deploying a Web Application Firewall configured to detect and block common SQL injection patterns can also mitigate exploitation attempts while patches are being applied. Regular security audits and code reviews focusing on database interaction layers are essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future development cycles.