CVE-2026-10288: Hotel Tourism System Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2026-10288 Overview

CVE-2026-10288 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in code-projects Hotel and Tourism Reservation System 1.0. The flaw resides in the password_verify function within /admin/login.php, part of the Admin Login component. Attackers can manipulate the Password argument to bypass authentication controls and gain administrative access remotely. The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-287] (Improper Authentication) and requires no privileges or user interaction to exploit. A public proof-of-concept exploit is available on GitHub, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can bypass admin authentication on /admin/login.php without credentials, gaining unauthorized access to administrative functions of the reservation system.

Affected Products

code-projects Hotel and Tourism Reservation System 1.0
Component: Admin Login (/admin/login.php)
Function: password_verify

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-01 - CVE-2026-10288 published to NVD
2026-06-02 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-10288

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from improper authentication handling in the password_verify function called by /admin/login.php. The Admin Login component does not correctly validate the supplied Password argument, allowing attackers to manipulate input in a way that satisfies the verification logic without presenting valid credentials. Successful exploitation grants administrative access to the reservation system, exposing booking records, customer data, and configuration functions. The attack is performed over the network and requires no authentication or user interaction.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper use of password verification logic in PHP. When password_verify is invoked against attacker-controlled input without proper handling, edge cases such as type juggling, empty hashes, or unverified hash retrieval from the database can cause the function to return a value treated as authentic. This category of flaw is classified under [CWE-287] (Improper Authentication).

Attack Vector

The attack is launched remotely against the admin login endpoint. An unauthenticated attacker sends a crafted POST request to /admin/login.php containing manipulated values for the Password parameter. Because the verification logic accepts the manipulated input, the application establishes an authenticated admin session. A public proof-of-concept demonstrating this bypass is hosted on GitHub Auth Bypass PoC. Additional technical details are documented in the VulDB CVE-2026-10288 entry.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-10288

Indicators of Compromise

Successful admin login events in /admin/login.php without preceding password reset or known administrator activity.
HTTP POST requests to /admin/login.php with unusual Password parameter values, including empty strings, arrays, or non-string types.
Unexpected session creation for administrative accounts from previously unseen source IP addresses.
Web server logs showing rapid successive login attempts followed by access to admin-only resources.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server and application logs for authentication anomalies targeting the admin login endpoint.
Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to flag malformed Password parameter types submitted to /admin/login.php.
Correlate authentication events with subsequent administrative actions to identify privilege misuse following login.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose authentication logging on the PHP application and forward logs to a centralized analytics platform.
Alert on access to admin-only URIs from IP addresses not on an approved administrator allow-list.
Monitor outbound database queries originating from admin sessions for signs of mass record extraction.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-10288

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to /admin/login.php using IP allow-listing, VPN, or reverse proxy controls until a fix is applied.
Audit existing administrator accounts and active sessions, terminating any sessions that cannot be attributed to legitimate activity.
Review web server logs from the disclosure date forward for evidence of exploitation against the admin login endpoint.

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published for code-projects Hotel and Tourism Reservation System 1.0 at the time of CVE publication. Operators should monitor the Code Projects Resource Hub for updates and consult the VulDB Vulnerability #367581 record for advisory tracking.

Workarounds

Place the admin interface behind an authenticated reverse proxy or HTTP basic authentication layer to add a second authentication factor.
Manually harden /admin/login.php by enforcing strict type checks on the Password parameter and rejecting non-string input before calling password_verify.
Disable the admin login endpoint entirely if administrative functions are not currently required in production.
Apply WAF signatures that block requests containing array-style or empty Password parameters to the admin login endpoint.

bash

# Example nginx configuration to restrict /admin/login.php to an internal network
location = /admin/login.php {
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;
    deny all;
    include fastcgi_params;
    fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php-fpm.sock;
}