CVE-2024-6736: Employee Gate Pass Logging System SQLi

CVE-2024-6736 Overview

CVE-2024-6736 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Employee and Visitor Gate Pass Logging System 1.0. The flaw resides in the view_employee.php script, where the id parameter is passed directly into a database query without proper sanitization. Authenticated remote attackers can manipulate the id argument to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed under VulDB identifier VDB-271457. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers with low privileges can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the application database, resulting in unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester (oretnom23) Employee and Visitor Gate Pass Logging System 1.0
• Deployments referencing the vulnerable view_employee.php endpoint
• Any downstream forks that reuse the unsanitized id parameter handling

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-07-15 - CVE-2024-6736 published to NVD
• 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-6736

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability affects the view_employee.php component of the Employee and Visitor Gate Pass Logging System. The application accepts a user-supplied id parameter over HTTP and concatenates it into a SQL query without parameterization or input validation. Attackers can supply crafted SQL syntax through the id argument to break out of the intended query context. Exploitation requires network access to the application and low-privileged authentication. The impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special SQL characters in the id request parameter [CWE-89]. The PHP handler in view_employee.php interpolates the parameter directly into a query string rather than using prepared statements or bound parameters. This design allows single quotes, comment sequences, and UNION operators supplied by an attacker to alter the query structure.

Attack Vector

The attack is remote and initiated over the network. An authenticated attacker sends a GET or POST request to view_employee.php with an id value containing SQL metacharacters. Typical payloads include boolean-based, UNION-based, or time-based blind SQL injection strings targeting the backing MySQL database. Because the exploit has been publicly documented in the GitHub CVE writeup and VulDB entry, opportunistic reuse is likely.

No verified proof-of-concept code is included in this article. Refer to the public disclosure for technical payload details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-6736

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to view_employee.php containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION SELECT, SLEEP(, or OR 1=1 in the id parameter
• Web server access logs showing abnormally long or URL-encoded id values from a single source IP
• Database error messages returned to clients referencing MySQL syntax failures tied to the employee table

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall signatures that inspect the id query string parameter on view_employee.php for SQL injection patterns
• Enable MySQL general query logging and alert on queries containing tautologies, stacked queries, or INFORMATION_SCHEMA references originating from the application user
• Correlate application logs with database logs to identify requests that produce anomalous result set sizes or query durations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Baseline normal id parameter values (numeric identifiers) and alert when non-numeric input reaches the endpoint
• Monitor for repeated 500-series responses from view_employee.php, which often indicate SQL injection probing
• Track outbound data volumes from the database host to detect bulk exfiltration following successful injection

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-6736

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Employee and Visitor Gate Pass Logging System to trusted internal users until a fix is applied
• Audit web server and database logs for prior exploitation attempts against view_employee.php
• Rotate credentials and review database user privileges to enforce least privilege for the application account

Patch Information

No vendor patch has been published for SourceCodester Employee and Visitor Gate Pass Logging System 1.0 at the time of writing. Consult the VulDB advisory for updates. Organizations should apply application-level mitigations and consider replacing the software if the vendor does not release a fix.

Workarounds

• Modify view_employee.php to use prepared statements with bound parameters (mysqli_prepare or PDO) for the id value
• Enforce server-side input validation that rejects any non-integer values for id before database interaction
• Place the application behind a web application firewall with SQL injection rulesets configured to block malicious payloads targeting the endpoint

# Example: WAF rule concept to block non-numeric id values on the vulnerable endpoint
# ModSecurity rule (illustrative)
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains view_employee.php" \
  "chain,deny,status:403,id:1006736,msg:'CVE-2024-6736 SQLi attempt'"
  SecRule ARGS:id "!@rx ^[0-9]+$" "t:none"