CVE-2024-3769: PHPGurukul Student Record System SQLi

CVE-2024-3769 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20. The vulnerability exists in the /login.php file, where improper sanitization of the id and password parameters allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw enables remote attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and potentially gain unauthorized access to the underlying database, compromising sensitive student records and system integrity.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass login authentication, potentially accessing, modifying, or deleting sensitive student records stored in the database.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20
• Applications using the vulnerable /login.php authentication mechanism

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-04-15 - CVE-2024-3769 published to NVD
• 2025-02-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3769

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (SQL Injection), a well-documented class of injection flaws that occur when user-supplied input is incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization. In the case of PHPGurukul Student Record System 3.20, the /login.php file accepts id and password parameters that are directly concatenated into SQL queries without adequate validation.

The authentication mechanism fails to properly escape or parameterize user input before constructing database queries. This allows attackers to craft malicious input that alters the intended SQL logic, effectively bypassing the authentication check entirely. The vulnerability is particularly severe because it targets the login functionality—the primary gateway to the application.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insecure coding practices used in the authentication logic. The application directly incorporates user-supplied values from the id and password form fields into SQL queries without using prepared statements, parameterized queries, or proper input validation. This classic SQL injection pattern allows attackers to manipulate the query structure and authentication logic.

Attack Vector

The attack can be launched remotely over the network without requiring any prior authentication or user interaction. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests to the /login.php endpoint, injecting SQL syntax into the id or password parameters. Classic authentication bypass payloads can be used to manipulate the WHERE clause of the login query, causing it to return a valid user record regardless of the actual credentials provided.

The public disclosure of this vulnerability and the availability of exploit details increase the risk of active exploitation. Technical details are available in the GitHub Authentication Bypass Analysis repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3769

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual login attempts with SQL metacharacters in authentication logs (e.g., single quotes, double dashes, OR statements)
• Successful authentication events for user accounts that should not have valid sessions
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL syntax
• Unexpected database query patterns or abnormal query execution times

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in POST parameters targeting /login.php
• Monitor application logs for authentication anomalies and SQL error messages
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns
• Conduct regular log analysis for requests containing SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, OR, and comment sequences

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the authentication module to capture all login attempts and parameters
• Set up alerts for multiple failed login attempts followed by successful authentication from the same source
• Monitor database audit logs for direct manipulation or unauthorized data access patterns
• Track access patterns to sensitive student record tables for anomalous activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3769

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the Student Record System to trusted networks only until a patch is applied
• Implement WAF rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the /login.php endpoint
• Review and audit all user accounts for signs of unauthorized access or privilege escalation
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains highly sensitive data and cannot be adequately protected

Patch Information

At the time of analysis, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor PHPGurukul's official channels for security updates. Additional technical details and vulnerability information can be found at VulDB #260616.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation on the server-side to reject SQL metacharacters in the id and password fields
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection protection capabilities in front of the application
• Modify the authentication code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries (requires code changes)
• Restrict database user privileges to minimize the impact of potential SQL injection exploitation

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection in login parameters
SecRule ARGS:id|ARGS:password "@rx (?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|--|;|')" \
    "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked in login.php'"