CVE-2024-3252: Internship Portal Management System SQLi

CVE-2024-3252 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Internship Portal Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the admin/check_admin.php file, where the username and password parameters are not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This allows remote attackers to manipulate database queries, potentially leading to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, and complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially gain administrative access to the internship portal management system.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester Internship Portal Management System 1.0
• Chatikobo Internship Portal Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-04-03 - CVE-2024-3252 published to NVD
• 2025-02-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3252

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability arises from improper input validation in the authentication mechanism of the Internship Portal Management System. The admin/check_admin.php script fails to sanitize user-supplied input for the username and password parameters before incorporating them into SQL queries. This classic injection flaw enables attackers to craft malicious input that alters the intended SQL logic.

The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication, requiring no privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation can result in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system and its underlying database.

Root Cause

The root cause is a failure to implement proper input validation and parameterized queries in the admin/check_admin.php authentication script. The application directly concatenates user-supplied input into SQL statements rather than using prepared statements with bound parameters. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL syntax through the login form fields.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by submitting specially crafted SQL injection payloads through the username or password fields of the administrative login form. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Accessing the administrative login page at admin/check_admin.php
2. Injecting SQL syntax into the username or password fields
3. Using techniques such as authentication bypass (e.g., ' OR '1'='1' --), UNION-based extraction, or blind SQL injection to exfiltrate data
4. Potentially escalating to database-level command execution depending on database configuration

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for exposed instances.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3252

Indicators of Compromise

• Anomalous HTTP POST requests to /admin/check_admin.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords
• Database error messages exposed in HTTP responses indicating SQL syntax errors
• Unusual database queries or query execution times in database logs
• Successful administrator logins from unexpected IP addresses or during unusual hours

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns targeting login forms
• Implement database activity monitoring to identify unusual query patterns, especially those involving system tables or UNION statements
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on HTTP traffic containing SQL injection payloads
• Review web server access logs for repeated requests to admin/check_admin.php with suspicious parameter values

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the web server and database to capture all queries executed by the application
• Set up alerts for database errors that may indicate injection attempts
• Monitor for bulk data extraction patterns that could suggest successful data exfiltration
• Implement rate limiting on the administrative login endpoint to slow brute-force and injection attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3252

Immediate Actions Required

• Take the Internship Portal Management System offline if it is publicly accessible until patched
• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the login form
• Restrict network access to the administrative interface using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and rotate all credentials if compromise is suspected

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations using SourceCodester Internship Portal Management System 1.0 should contact the vendor for remediation guidance or consider migrating to an alternative solution. Additional technical details and exploit information can be found in the GitHub vulnerability repository and VulDB advisory #259101.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation and sanitization at the application level by modifying admin/check_admin.php to use parameterized queries or prepared statements
• Deploy a reverse proxy with WAF capabilities in front of the application to filter malicious input
• Restrict database user privileges to limit the impact of successful SQL injection
• Disable error message display in production to prevent information leakage that aids attackers

# Example: Restrict access to admin directory via .htaccess
# Add to /admin/.htaccess
<Files "check_admin.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Files>