CVE-2024-2525: Online Event Hall Reservation System XSS

CVE-2024-2525 Overview

CVE-2024-2525 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in MAGESH-K21 Online-College-Event-Hall-Reservation-System version 1.0. The flaw resides in /admin/receipt.php, where the id request parameter is reflected into the response without proper output encoding. Attackers can craft a malicious URL that executes arbitrary JavaScript in a victim's browser when the link is opened. The issue was publicly disclosed through VulDB entry VDB-256962, and a proof-of-concept is available on GitHub. The vendor was contacted before disclosure but did not respond, and no official patch has been released.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation lets an attacker hijack administrator sessions, steal cookies, or perform actions in the context of the authenticated admin user through a crafted link.

Affected Products

MAGESH-K21 Online-College-Event-Hall-Reservation-System 1.0
Component: /admin/receipt.php (parameter id)
CPE: cpe:2.3:a:magesh-k21:online-college-event-hall-reservation-system:1.0

Discovery Timeline

2024-03-16 - CVE-2024-2525 published to NVD with VulDB identifier VDB-256962
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2525

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS flaw classified under [CWE-79] (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). The /admin/receipt.php endpoint accepts an id parameter through the query string and renders it back into the HTML response without contextual escaping or input sanitization. An attacker who can convince an authenticated administrator to click a crafted URL can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the administrator's browser session.

Because the affected page is within the /admin/ directory, exploitation typically targets privileged users. Payload execution in the admin context enables theft of session cookies, forced state-changing requests, and browser-based reconnaissance of the reservation system.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing output encoding of user-controlled input. The application echoes the id GET parameter directly into the rendered HTML without applying functions such as htmlspecialchars() or context-aware escaping. No server-side allow-list validation is applied to constrain the parameter to expected numeric values.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an attacker to deliver a crafted URL to a logged-in administrator through phishing, chat, or another social channel. When the target opens the link, the injected payload runs in the origin of the vulnerable application. The attack is network-reachable and requires user interaction but no authentication on the attacker's part. Refer to the GitHub PoC for MAGESH-K21 for the disclosed payload structure.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2525

Indicators of Compromise

Web server access logs showing requests to /admin/receipt.php with id values containing HTML or JavaScript syntax such as <script>, onerror=, or javascript:.
URL-encoded payloads (%3Cscript%3E, %22%3E) appended to the id parameter in referrer headers or proxy logs.
Outbound browser requests from admin workstations to attacker-controlled domains shortly after visiting reservation system URLs.

Detection Strategies

Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that flag reflected XSS patterns targeting the id parameter of receipt.php.
Add IDS/IPS signatures for common XSS payload markers observed in the VulDB #256962 Details disclosure.
Correlate suspicious query strings against administrator user-agent activity to identify targeted phishing attempts.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward HTTP access logs from the reservation system to a centralized logging platform for query-parameter inspection.
Alert on any request to /admin/receipt.php where the id parameter deviates from expected numeric values.
Monitor administrator session cookies for reuse from unexpected IP addresses or geolocations.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2525

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict access to /admin/ endpoints through IP allow-listing or VPN-only reachability until the vendor issues a fix.
Enforce a strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that disables inline scripts to blunt payload execution.
Educate administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links pointing at the reservation system.
Rotate administrator session credentials if suspicious access to receipt.php is observed.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch is available. According to the NVD entry, the vendor was contacted before disclosure but did not respond. Organizations running MAGESH-K21 Online-College-Event-Hall-Reservation-System 1.0 should apply source-level fixes by sanitizing the id parameter with htmlspecialchars($_GET['id'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8') and validating that it is a numeric identifier before use. Additional context is available in the VulDB #256962 Analysis.

Workarounds

Apply a reverse-proxy rule that rejects requests to /admin/receipt.php when the id parameter contains non-numeric characters.
Set the HttpOnly and Secure flags on all session cookies to reduce the impact of successful script execution.
Configure a browser-enforced CSP header such as Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' for all admin pages.
Consider decommissioning version 1.0 if the application is not actively maintained and no upgrade path exists.

bash

# Example NGINX reverse-proxy hardening for the vulnerable endpoint
location = /admin/receipt.php {
    if ($arg_id !~ "^[0-9]+$") {
        return 400;
    }
    add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    proxy_pass http://backend;
}