CVE-2024-2575: Employee Task Management Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2024-2575 Overview

A critical authorization bypass vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Employee Task Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /task-details.php file, where improper authorization controls allow attackers to manipulate the task_id parameter to access unauthorized task information. This Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) flaw enables remote attackers to bypass access controls and view, modify, or delete task data belonging to other users without proper authentication.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this authorization bypass vulnerability to access sensitive task information, potentially exposing confidential business data, employee assignments, and project details across the entire organization.

Affected Products

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

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-18 - CVE-2024-2575 published to NVD
• 2025-02-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2575

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key, commonly known as Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR). The vulnerable endpoint /task-details.php accepts a task_id parameter that directly references task objects in the database without performing adequate authorization checks to verify whether the requesting user has permission to access the specified task.

The application fails to validate that the authenticated user has ownership or appropriate permissions for the requested task. This allows any authenticated user—or potentially unauthenticated users if no session validation exists—to enumerate and access arbitrary tasks by simply modifying the task_id parameter value.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper access control logic in the /task-details.php file. The application directly uses the user-supplied task_id parameter to query the database without implementing authorization checks to verify that the current user has legitimate access rights to the requested task resource. This is a fundamental secure coding oversight where object-level access control was not implemented.

Attack Vector

The attack can be launched remotely over the network. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Authenticating to the Employee Task Management System (or bypassing authentication if not enforced)
2. Navigating to any legitimate task they have access to and observing the URL structure
3. Modifying the task_id parameter in requests to /task-details.php
4. Iterating through sequential or predictable task ID values to access other users' tasks
5. Exfiltrating sensitive task information, modifying task details, or potentially deleting tasks

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation. Attackers require no special privileges and can launch the attack with minimal complexity. Detailed technical information is available in the GitHub PoC Repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2575

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual access patterns to /task-details.php with rapidly incrementing or sequential task_id values
• Multiple requests from the same IP or session accessing tasks belonging to different users
• HTTP requests containing numeric enumeration patterns in the task_id parameter
• Log entries showing access to task IDs outside of the user's assigned tasks

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect parameter enumeration attempts on the task_id parameter
• Enable detailed access logging for /task-details.php and correlate task access with user ownership records
• Deploy anomaly detection to identify users accessing an unusually high number of different task IDs
• Configure alerting for sequential or pattern-based parameter manipulation in application logs

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor HTTP access logs for suspicious patterns targeting /task-details.php
• Set up real-time alerts for failed authorization attempts or access to unauthorized resources
• Review application logs periodically for evidence of IDOR exploitation attempts
• Track and correlate user session activity with accessed task resources to identify unauthorized access

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2575

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the Employee Task Management System to trusted networks only until a patch is applied
• Implement additional authentication and authorization checks at the network or application gateway level
• Review access logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess data exposure
• Consider temporarily disabling the /task-details.php functionality if business operations permit

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor the VulDB advisory for updates. Given that SourceCodester applications are often educational or demonstration projects, users should carefully evaluate whether this software is suitable for production environments and consider migrating to a more actively maintained task management solution.

Workarounds

• Implement server-side authorization checks in /task-details.php to verify user ownership of requested tasks
• Add session-based access controls to validate that the authenticated user has permission to access each task
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF to filter and block suspicious task_id parameter manipulation attempts
• Restrict application access to authenticated and authorized users only, with network-level access controls

# Example Apache .htaccess restriction for task-details.php
# Add to the application's .htaccess file to restrict access
<Files "task-details.php">
    # Require valid authentication
    AuthType Basic
    AuthName "Restricted Access"
    AuthUserFile /path/to/.htpasswd
    Require valid-user
    
    # Additional IP restriction (adjust as needed)
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
</Files>