CVE-2024-7307: Establishment Billing System SQL Injection

CVE-2024-7307 Overview

CVE-2024-7307 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Establishment Billing Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in the /manage_billing.php endpoint, where the id parameter is passed directly into a database query without proper sanitization. Remote attackers with low-level privileges can manipulate the parameter to alter query logic and access or modify billing data. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and is tracked as VulDB entry VDB-273199. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).

Critical Impact
Authenticated remote attackers can inject arbitrary SQL through the id parameter of manage_billing.php, leading to disclosure or modification of billing records stored in the backend database.

Affected Products

Oretnom23 (SourceCodester) Establishment Billing Management System 1.0
Component: /manage_billing.php
CPE: cpe:2.3:a:oretnom23:establishment_billing_management_system:1.0

Discovery Timeline

2024-07-31 - CVE-2024-7307 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7307

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a classic in-band SQL injection in the billing management module of a PHP-based web application. When a user requests /manage_billing.php, the application reads the id GET or POST parameter and concatenates it directly into an SQL statement issued against the backend database. Because the parameter is neither type-cast to an integer nor bound as a prepared statement value, an attacker can inject arbitrary SQL syntax.

Exploitation requires network reachability to the web application and low-privilege access, since the affected endpoint sits behind the application's authenticated area. Once inside, an attacker can enumerate database structure, extract billing and customer records, or manipulate stored data. Successful injection also opens the door to authentication bypass by tampering with lookups tied to user or session records.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input validation and the absence of parameterized queries in manage_billing.php. The id argument is inserted into a SELECT statement using string concatenation, which allows special SQL characters to break out of the intended value context. This is a textbook CWE-89 defect and reflects a broader lack of prepared-statement usage across the application.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is remote and network-based. An authenticated user submits a crafted value for the id parameter (for example, appending a UNION SELECT clause or a boolean-based payload) to /manage_billing.php. The application returns query results reflecting the injected logic, enabling data extraction or record tampering. Public proof-of-concept material is available in the GitHub Gist Exploit Code and the VulDB #273199 Details entry.

No verified exploitation code is included here. See the VulDB #273199 Threat Report for technical indicators.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7307

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to /manage_billing.php containing SQL metacharacters such as ', ", --, #, UNION, SELECT, or SLEEP( in the id parameter.
Web server access logs showing repeated requests to manage_billing.php?id= with abnormally long or encoded values.
Database error messages surfaced in application responses, indicating malformed queries reaching the DBMS.
Unexpected outbound queries from the web application user against tables outside the billing scope.

Detection Strategies

Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL injection patterns against the id parameter of manage_billing.php.
Enable database query auditing to detect anomalous UNION, INFORMATION_SCHEMA, or time-based functions issued from the web application account.
Correlate HTTP 500 responses from manage_billing.php with database engine errors in server logs.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on spikes in requests to /manage_billing.php from a single source or session.
Monitor for authenticated sessions issuing atypical query volumes or accessing unrelated database tables.
Track EPSS movement for CVE-2024-7307 (currently 0.619%, percentile 46.96) as an indicator of increasing exploitation likelihood.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7307

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the Establishment Billing Management System to trusted internal networks or VPN users only.
Rotate database credentials used by the web application and review recent billing records for unauthorized modifications.
Enforce least privilege on the database account used by the application, removing DROP, ALTER, and cross-schema SELECT rights where not required.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published by SourceCodester or the Oretnom23 project for CVE-2024-7307. Organizations running Establishment Billing Management System 1.0 should treat the application as unmaintained and evaluate migration to a supported alternative. Refer to the VulDB #273199 Details entry for tracking updates.

Workarounds

Apply a WAF rule that blocks or sanitizes SQL metacharacters in the id parameter of /manage_billing.php.
Modify the application source to cast $_GET['id'] and $_POST['id'] to an integer before use, or refactor the query to use PDO prepared statements with bound parameters.
Disable or remove the manage_billing.php endpoint if the billing feature is not in active use.
Place the application behind an authenticating reverse proxy to limit exposure to unauthenticated network scanning.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block SQLi patterns on manage_billing.php
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /manage_billing.php" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1007307,\
     msg:'CVE-2024-7307 SQLi attempt on manage_billing.php id parameter'"
    SecRule ARGS:id "@rx (?i)(union(\s|/\*.*\*/)+select|sleep\s*\(|--|;|')" \
        "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"