CVE-2024-55271 Overview
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability has been identified in phpgurukul Gym Management System 1.0. This issue is present in the profile update functionality of the User Panel, specifically the /profile.php endpoint. The vulnerability allows attackers to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions on their accounts without their knowledge or consent.
Critical Impact
Attackers can exploit this CSRF vulnerability to modify user profile information by crafting malicious requests that execute when a logged-in user visits an attacker-controlled page.
Affected Products
- phpgurukul Gym Management System 1.0
- User Panel profile update functionality
- /profile.php endpoint
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-02-17 - CVE CVE-2024-55271 published to NVD
- 2026-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-55271
Vulnerability Analysis
This Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability exists in the profile update functionality of the phpgurukul Gym Management System. The application fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or other mechanisms to validate that profile update requests originate from legitimate user actions within the application itself.
When a user is authenticated to the Gym Management System, their session remains valid throughout their browsing session. The vulnerable /profile.php endpoint accepts profile modification requests without verifying the origin of the request. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious webpage containing a hidden form that automatically submits a profile update request to the target application when visited by an authenticated user.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of CSRF protection mechanisms in the /profile.php endpoint. The application does not implement:
- Anti-CSRF tokens that are validated on the server-side
- Same-site cookie attributes to prevent cross-origin request attacks
- Referrer header validation
- Custom request headers that would require CORS preflight
Without these protections, the application cannot distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and malicious forged requests originating from external sites.
Attack Vector
The attack is network-based and requires user interaction. An attacker must craft a malicious HTML page containing a form that targets the /profile.php endpoint with the desired profile modifications. The attacker then needs to convince an authenticated user to visit this malicious page, typically through phishing emails, malicious links on forums, or other social engineering techniques.
When the victim visits the attacker's page while logged into the Gym Management System, the browser automatically includes the user's session cookies with the forged request, causing the profile update to execute with the victim's privileges.
The vulnerability affects the integrity of user data, as attackers can modify profile information such as contact details, personal information, or other user-controlled fields without authorization.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-55271
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes to user profile information without user-initiated actions
- Unusual HTTP referrer headers in profile update requests pointing to external domains
- Multiple profile update requests from the same user session in rapid succession
- Profile modifications occurring from IP addresses inconsistent with user's normal activity patterns
Detection Strategies
- Monitor web server access logs for POST requests to /profile.php with external referrer headers
- Implement anomaly detection for profile update patterns that deviate from normal user behavior
- Review authentication logs for sessions that made profile changes following visits to suspicious external URLs
- Configure web application firewalls to alert on requests lacking expected anti-CSRF tokens
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable detailed logging for all profile modification endpoints
- Set up alerts for profile updates originating from cross-origin requests
- Monitor for patterns of automated form submissions targeting the vulnerable endpoint
- Implement real-time alerting for bulk profile modifications across multiple user accounts
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-55271
Immediate Actions Required
- Implement anti-CSRF tokens on all state-changing forms, particularly the profile update functionality
- Add SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax attributes to session cookies
- Validate the Referer and Origin headers on sensitive requests
- Consider upgrading to a patched version when available from the vendor
Patch Information
No official patch information is currently available from the vendor. Organizations using phpgurukul Gym Management System 1.0 should monitor the GitHub project repository for updates. Additional technical details about this vulnerability can be found in the GitHub PoC for CVE-2024-55271.
Workarounds
- Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to validate CSRF tokens on profile update requests
- Deploy a reverse proxy that adds CSRF protection to vulnerable endpoints
- Restrict access to the User Panel to trusted networks only until a patch is available
- Educate users about the risks of clicking unknown links while authenticated to the application
- Consider implementing custom CSRF protection at the application level if source code access is available
# Example: Apache mod_security rule to detect potential CSRF attacks
# Add to your ModSecurity configuration
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "POST" \
"id:1001,\
phase:2,\
chain,\
deny,\
status:403,\
msg:'Potential CSRF attack detected - missing referer from same origin'"
SecRule REQUEST_HEADERS:Referer "!@contains yourdomain.com"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
