CVE-2024-2573: Employee Task Management System RCE Flaw

CVE-2024-2573 Overview

A critical Execution After Redirect (EAR) vulnerability has been discovered in SourceCodester Employee Task Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /task-info.php file and allows remote attackers to bypass authentication controls by exploiting improper redirect handling. This flaw enables unauthorized access to sensitive functionality that should be restricted to authenticated users.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can bypass authentication mechanisms and access protected resources in the Employee Task Management System, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or system compromise.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester Employee Task Management System 1.0
• Oretnom23 Employee Task Management System

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-18 - CVE-2024-2573 published to NVD
• 2025-02-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2573

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-698 (Execution After Redirect), a weakness that occurs when an application performs a redirect but continues to execute code afterward. In the context of the Employee Task Management System, the /task-info.php file fails to properly terminate script execution after issuing a redirect response to unauthenticated users. This allows attackers to bypass access controls by simply ignoring the redirect instruction and processing the remaining response content.

The attack can be launched remotely without any authentication requirements, and no user interaction is needed for successful exploitation. An attacker with network access to the application can send crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoint and receive sensitive information or execute functionality that should be protected behind authentication barriers.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper implementation of access control in the /task-info.php file. When a user attempts to access this page without proper authentication, the application likely issues an HTTP redirect (such as a 302 Found response) to a login page. However, the server-side script continues executing after the redirect header is sent, including the protected content in the response body. Attackers can intercept this response and access the restricted content by ignoring the redirect directive.

This is a common programming mistake where developers assume that sending a redirect header will stop script execution, when in fact PHP and similar server-side languages continue processing unless explicitly terminated with functions like exit() or die().

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and can be executed remotely. An attacker intercepts or ignores the redirect response from /task-info.php and processes the response body that contains restricted content. This can be accomplished using command-line HTTP clients like curl, browser developer tools, or proxy tools that display the full HTTP response regardless of redirect headers.

The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed with exploit details available through the GitHub PoC Repository and tracked in VulDB #257076.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2573

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to /task-info.php from unauthenticated sessions
• HTTP client tools or scripts accessing protected endpoints while ignoring redirect responses
• Access logs showing successful content retrieval from restricted pages without corresponding authentication events
• Requests with non-standard User-Agent strings targeting sensitive PHP endpoints

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web server access logs for requests to /task-info.php that do not have associated session authentication
• Implement application-layer intrusion detection rules to identify clients that process responses from redirect-protected endpoints
• Configure web application firewalls (WAF) to flag requests that bypass redirect-based access controls
• Deploy behavioral analysis to detect automated scanning tools probing for EAR vulnerabilities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for authentication events and access to sensitive endpoints
• Correlate web access logs with authentication systems to identify access attempts without valid sessions
• Set up alerts for repeated requests to protected resources from the same IP without successful authentication
• Monitor for reconnaissance activity targeting multiple PHP endpoints in the application

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2573

Immediate Actions Required

• Review and update all PHP files that implement redirect-based access control to include explicit script termination
• Audit the /task-info.php file and add exit() or die() statements immediately after any redirect headers
• Restrict network access to the Employee Task Management System to trusted networks until patches are applied
• Implement additional server-side authentication checks that do not rely solely on redirects

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. The software maintainer (oretnom23/SourceCodester) has not published security advisories or remediation guidance. Organizations using this software should implement the workarounds described below and consider migrating to a maintained task management solution with better security practices.

For technical details about this vulnerability, refer to VulDB #257076.

Workarounds

• Add explicit exit() or die() calls immediately after all redirect headers in PHP files
• Implement server-side session validation that returns a 403 Forbidden response instead of redirecting
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) to block unauthorized access attempts to sensitive endpoints
• Consider isolating the application on a separate network segment with restricted access
• Implement IP-based access control lists (ACLs) to limit who can reach the application

# Example fix for PHP redirect vulnerability
# In task-info.php, ensure script termination after redirect:
# Before (vulnerable):
#   header('Location: login.php');
#   // Code continues executing...
#
# After (secure):
#   header('Location: login.php');
#   exit();  # or die();
#
# For Apache, restrict access to sensitive files:
<Files "task-info.php">
    Require valid-user
</Files>