CVE-2024-9816: Codezips Tourist Management RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-9816 Overview

CVE-2024-9816 is an unrestricted file upload vulnerability in Codezips Tourist Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in the /admin/change-image.php endpoint, where the packageimage parameter accepts arbitrary file uploads without validation. Attackers can exploit this weakness over the network to upload malicious files to the web server. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances.

The issue is tracked under CWE-434: Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type. Exploitation requires high privileges according to the CVSS 4.0 vector, meaning an attacker must already possess administrative access to the application.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows an authenticated administrator to upload arbitrary files, which may enable web shell deployment and further compromise of the underlying server.

Affected Products

Codezips Tourist Management System 1.0
Deployments referenced by CPE cpe:2.3:a:codezips:tourist_management_system:1.0
Any instance exposing /admin/change-image.php to authenticated users

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-10 - CVE-2024-9816 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9816

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability affects the image change functionality inside the administrative panel of Codezips Tourist Management System 1.0. The /admin/change-image.php script processes uploaded content through the packageimage parameter without enforcing restrictions on file type, extension, or MIME content. An authenticated administrator can supply server-side executable content, such as a PHP script, in place of an expected image file.

Because the application stores uploads within the webroot and does not rewrite file extensions, the uploaded payload becomes directly reachable through the web server. This turns an image replacement feature into an arbitrary code execution primitive. The public disclosure includes technical details on GitHub and VulDB entry 279968.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing server-side validation on the packageimage upload handler. The application does not verify file extension allowlists, MIME type, magic bytes, or content structure before writing the file to disk. Client-side checks, when present, are trivially bypassed by direct HTTP requests.

Attack Vector

An attacker with administrative credentials issues a crafted multipart HTTP POST request to /admin/change-image.php, supplying a PHP payload as the packageimage field. Once written to the server, the file is requested through the browser to execute code in the context of the web server user. High privilege requirements limit opportunistic exploitation but do not prevent abuse in environments with weak credential hygiene, credential reuse, or compromised admin sessions.

No verified proof-of-concept code is published beyond the referenced advisory. See the GitHub issue for public technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9816

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected files with executable extensions (.php, .phtml, .phar) inside directories used to store package images
POST requests to /admin/change-image.php containing multipart payloads whose filenames end in server-executable extensions
New administrative sessions from unusual IP addresses immediately preceding upload activity
Outbound connections initiated by the web server process shortly after upload events

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to /admin/change-image.php and correlate with the resulting file paths served by subsequent GET requests
Deploy web application firewall rules that block non-image content types and extensions on the packageimage parameter
Alert on process creation by the PHP or web server user that is uncommon for the baseline workload

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable file integrity monitoring on upload directories to detect newly written executable content
Log and review administrative authentication events, especially failed and geographically anomalous logins
Retain HTTP request bodies for the affected endpoint to support forensic reconstruction if abuse is suspected

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9816

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the /admin/ path through IP allowlisting or VPN gating until a fix is in place
Rotate administrator credentials and enforce strong, unique passwords with multi-factor authentication where supported
Audit upload directories for unauthorized files and remove any executable content that does not belong
Configure the web server to deny script execution within upload directories

Patch Information

No vendor patch is referenced in the NVD entry or in the linked advisories. Codezips has not published a security fix for Tourist Management System 1.0 at the time of NVD's last update on 2026-06-17. Operators should evaluate whether to continue running the affected version or migrate to an alternative application.

Workarounds

Modify /admin/change-image.php to enforce a server-side allowlist of image extensions and validate magic bytes before writing files
Store uploads outside the webroot and serve them through a controlled handler that sets a fixed content type
Rename uploaded files to a random identifier and strip client-supplied extensions on save
Apply web server configuration to disable PHP execution in upload directories

bash

# Example Apache configuration to disable PHP execution in an uploads directory
<Directory "/var/www/tourist_management/uploads">
    php_admin_flag engine off
    <FilesMatch "\.(php|phtml|phar|php5|php7)$">
        Require all denied
    </FilesMatch>
</Directory>