CVE-2024-3257: Internship Portal Management System SQLI Flaw

CVE-2024-3257 Overview

CVE-2024-3257 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Internship Portal Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in admin/edit_activity_query.php, where the title, description, start, and end parameters are concatenated into SQL statements without sanitization. Authenticated administrators can manipulate these parameters to execute arbitrary SQL queries against the backend database. The issue is tracked as VulDB entry VDB-259106 and maps to [CWE-89]. The exploit technique has been publicly disclosed, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed installations.

Critical Impact
Remote SQL injection enables full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application database.

Affected Products

Chatikobo Internship Portal Management System 1.0
Component: admin/edit_activity_query.php
CPE: cpe:2.3:a:chatikobo:internship_portal_management_system:1.0

Discovery Timeline

2024-04-03 - CVE-2024-3257 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3257

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection [CWE-89] in the activity editing workflow of the administrative interface. The edit_activity_query.php script accepts user-controlled input from four fields, title, description, start, and end, and passes those values directly into a SQL statement. Because the values are neither parameterized nor escaped, an attacker can break out of the intended string context and append additional SQL clauses. The attack requires network access to the admin endpoint and authenticated access with elevated privileges, but no user interaction. Successful exploitation returns arbitrary rows, modifies records, or drops tables depending on the injected payload and the database user's privileges.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command. The application constructs queries via direct string concatenation instead of using prepared statements with bound parameters. No input validation or output encoding is applied to the four affected fields before they reach the database driver.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker submits a crafted POST request to admin/edit_activity_query.php containing SQL metacharacters in the title, description, start, or end parameters. Typical payloads use a single quote to terminate the string literal, followed by UNION SELECT statements to exfiltrate data or stacked queries to modify records. Because the application shares a single database user for all queries, the injection inherits the full privilege set of that account. Public technical detail is available in the GitHub proof-of-concept writeup and the VulDB advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3257

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP POST requests to admin/edit_activity_query.php containing SQL syntax such as UNION SELECT, --, /*, SLEEP(, or unbalanced single quotes in the title, description, start, or end parameters.
Database error strings surfaced in HTTP responses referencing MySQL syntax failures against activity records.
Unexpected administrative sessions originating from external or non-corporate IP addresses.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall signatures that inspect POST bodies to edit_activity_query.php for SQL metacharacters and boolean-based payload patterns.
Enable database query logging and alert on queries against the activities table that contain concatenated conditional expressions or INFORMATION_SCHEMA lookups.
Correlate authentication logs with request volume to edit_activity_query.php to identify brute-force followed by injection activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward web server access logs and MySQL general query logs to a centralized SIEM for retention and correlation.
Baseline normal admin activity volumes and alert on statistical deviations in edit-activity requests.
Monitor outbound egress from the database host for signs of data exfiltration following suspicious query patterns.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3257

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the admin/ directory using IP allowlists or VPN-only reachability until a patch is applied.
Rotate all administrator credentials and audit account activity for the affected instance.
Review the activities table and related records for unauthorized modifications.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published for Internship Portal Management System 1.0. Operators should refactor admin/edit_activity_query.php to use parameterized queries via mysqli_prepare or PDO with bound parameters. Input validation should enforce expected types for start and end (dates) and restrict title and description to a defined character set before database interaction. Consult the VulDB advisory for additional technical context.

Workarounds

Place the application behind a web application firewall with SQL injection rules tuned for the affected endpoint.
Configure the database account used by the application with least-privilege grants, removing DROP, ALTER, and FILE permissions.
Disable or remove the vulnerable admin functionality if activity editing is not required in production.

bash

# Example least-privilege database grant for the application account
REVOKE ALL PRIVILEGES ON internship_portal.* FROM 'ipms_app'@'%';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON internship_portal.* TO 'ipms_app'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;