CVE-2024-7191: Society Management System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2024-7191 Overview

CVE-2024-7191 is a SQL injection vulnerability in itsourcecode Society Management System version 1.0. The flaw resides in the /admin/get_balance.php script, where the student_id parameter is passed unsanitized into a SQL query. An authenticated remote attacker with low privileges can manipulate this parameter to execute arbitrary SQL statements against the backing database. The exploit details have been disclosed publicly through VulDB entry VDB-272612, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic abuse against exposed instances. The weakness is classified under CWE-89, Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command.

Critical Impact

Authenticated remote attackers can inject SQL through the student_id parameter to read, modify, or destroy database records stored by the Society Management System.

Affected Products

• itsourcecode Society Management System 1.0
• Deployments referencing angeljudesuarez:society_management_system:1.0
• Installations exposing /admin/get_balance.php over the network

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-07-29 - CVE-2024-7191 published to NVD
• 2024-11-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7191

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the /admin/get_balance.php endpoint of itsourcecode Society Management System 1.0. The script accepts a student_id argument from the HTTP request and concatenates it directly into a SQL query. Because no parameterization or input sanitization is applied, attacker-controlled SQL syntax is interpreted by the database engine. The attack is remotely reachable and requires only low-privileged authentication. Successful exploitation grants the attacker the ability to read sensitive tables, alter financial balance records, and potentially escalate access by extracting administrator credentials. Public disclosure of the exploit through VulDB submission 380386 lowers the barrier for opportunistic actors targeting exposed instances.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of prepared statements or input validation for the student_id parameter in /admin/get_balance.php. User input flows directly into a dynamically constructed SQL query, allowing query structure modification. This pattern matches CWE-89 and is a recurring issue in PHP applications that rely on string concatenation for query building.

Attack Vector

The attack is launched over the network against an authenticated session. An attacker submits a crafted value for student_id to /admin/get_balance.php, embedding SQL clauses such as UNION SELECT or boolean-based payloads. The injected SQL executes with the privileges of the database user configured for the application. Refer to the GitHub CVE-7-5 Documentation and the VulDB #272612 entry for the disclosed proof-of-concept details.

// No verified exploit code available - see referenced advisories for technical proof-of-concept

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7191

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /admin/get_balance.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION, SELECT, --, or OR 1=1 in the student_id parameter.
• Unexpected database errors or stack traces emitted by the application after requests to the balance endpoint.
• Anomalous administrative session activity correlated with manipulation of the student_id value.

Detection Strategies

• Inspect web server access logs for requests to /admin/get_balance.php where student_id is non-numeric or contains URL-encoded SQL keywords.
• Deploy a web application firewall rule that flags SQL injection signatures targeting the student_id parameter.
• Enable database query logging and alert on queries originating from the application that contain unusual UNION or information_schema lookups.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Continuously monitor authenticated admin endpoints for parameter tampering and high-volume scanning patterns.
• Correlate web traffic, application logs, and database telemetry to identify multi-stage SQL injection attempts.
• Track outbound data volumes from the application database to detect bulk record exfiltration.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7191

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network exposure of the /admin/ directory to trusted administrative IP ranges until a fix is applied.
• Rotate administrator credentials and database account passwords used by the Society Management System.
• Review database audit logs for prior exploitation indicators associated with get_balance.php.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch is referenced in the NVD record for CVE-2024-7191. Operators should monitor the VulDB CTI Report #272612 and the upstream project for remediation guidance. In the absence of a vendor fix, source-code level mitigation is required by replacing direct query concatenation in /admin/get_balance.php with parameterized statements (for example, PHP PDO with bound parameters) and enforcing strict type validation on student_id.

Workarounds

• Apply a web application firewall ruleset that blocks SQL metacharacters in the student_id parameter.
• Patch the source of /admin/get_balance.php locally to use prepared statements and cast student_id to an integer before query execution.
• Disable or remove the affected endpoint if the balance functionality is not required for operations.

# Example local hardening: enforce integer cast in get_balance.php
# Replace direct concatenation such as:
#   $sql = "SELECT balance FROM students WHERE student_id = '".$_GET['student_id']."'";
# With a parameterized query:
#   $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT balance FROM students WHERE student_id = :id");
#   $stmt->bindValue(':id', (int)$_GET['student_id'], PDO::PARAM_INT);
#   $stmt->execute();