CVE-2024-2577: Employee Task Management Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2024-2577 Overview

A critical authorization bypass vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Employee Task Management System version 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the /update-employee.php file and allows remote attackers to bypass authorization controls by manipulating the admin_id parameter. The vulnerability is classified as an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR), enabling unauthorized access to employee records and administrative functions without proper authentication.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this authorization bypass to gain unauthorized access to sensitive employee data and modify records without authentication, potentially compromising the entire employee management system.

Affected Products

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

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-18 - CVE-2024-2577 published to NVD
• 2025-02-20 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-2577

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key), which occurs when the application uses user-supplied input to determine access permissions without proper validation. In the Employee Task Management System, the /update-employee.php endpoint fails to verify whether the requesting user has legitimate authorization to access or modify the specified employee record.

The lack of server-side authorization checks allows any user to manipulate the admin_id parameter in requests to the vulnerable endpoint, effectively bypassing the intended access control mechanism. This type of IDOR vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it can expose sensitive employee information and allow unauthorized modifications to the database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient authorization validation in the /update-employee.php file. The application directly uses the admin_id parameter from user input to perform database operations without verifying that the authenticated user has the appropriate privileges to access or modify the requested resource. Proper implementation would require server-side validation to ensure that the requesting user's session corresponds to an authorized administrator before processing the request.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft HTTP requests to the /update-employee.php endpoint with arbitrary admin_id values to access or modify employee records they should not have permission to view or change.

The exploitation mechanism involves manipulating the admin_id parameter in POST or GET requests to the vulnerable endpoint. By iterating through different ID values, an attacker can enumerate and access multiple employee records, potentially extracting sensitive information or making unauthorized changes to employee data. For technical details on the exploitation method, see the GitHub PoC for IDOR and VulDB #257080.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-2577

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual access patterns to /update-employee.php endpoint with varying admin_id values
• Multiple requests to employee management endpoints from unauthenticated sessions
• Database logs showing access or modification of employee records without corresponding authenticated sessions
• HTTP request logs containing sequential or randomized admin_id parameter values from a single source

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect parameter tampering on sensitive endpoints
• Monitor HTTP access logs for enumeration patterns targeting the /update-employee.php endpoint
• Deploy intrusion detection signatures for IDOR attack patterns against employee management functions
• Enable detailed logging of all administrative actions with session correlation

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the Employee Task Management System application
• Configure alerts for failed authorization attempts and unusual access patterns
• Monitor database query logs for unauthorized SELECT or UPDATE operations on employee tables
• Implement rate limiting and anomaly detection for requests to administrative endpoints

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-2577

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the Employee Task Management System to trusted networks only
• Implement additional authentication layer (such as VPN or IP whitelisting) before accessing the application
• Review and audit recent access logs for signs of exploitation
• Consider taking the application offline until proper authorization controls can be implemented

Patch Information

No official patch has been released by the vendor at this time. Organizations using SourceCodester Employee Task Management System 1.0 should implement the workarounds listed below and monitor for vendor updates. For additional information, consult VulDB #257080.

Workarounds

• Implement server-side authorization checks to validate that the authenticated user has permission to access the requested admin_id
• Add session validation to ensure all requests to /update-employee.php originate from authenticated administrator sessions
• Restrict network access to the application using firewall rules or reverse proxy authentication
• Deploy a web application firewall with rules to detect and block IDOR exploitation attempts

# Configuration example - Apache .htaccess to restrict access
# Add to the document root of the Employee Task Management System

<Files "update-employee.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
    Allow from 192.168.0.0/16
</Files>