CVE-2026-11335 Overview
CVE-2026-11335 is a session fixation vulnerability in the open-source tittuvarghese/CollegeManagementSystem project. The flaw resides in the session_start function called from /login-form.php, where manipulation of the UserAuthData argument allows an attacker to fix a victim's session identifier. The issue maps to [CWE-384: Session Fixation]. An exploit has been published publicly, and the attack can be launched remotely with limited user interaction. The project does not use versioning, so specific affected and unaffected releases cannot be enumerated. The maintainer was notified through a GitHub issue but has not responded.
Critical Impact
An attacker who can plant a known session identifier in a victim's browser can hijack the authenticated session after the victim logs in, leading to account takeover within the application.
Affected Products
- tittuvarghese CollegeManagementSystem (commit 3e476335cfbfb9a049e09f474c7ec885f69a9df3)
- tittuvarghese CollegeManagementSystem (commit a38852979f7e27ae67b610dce5979500ef8ebe01)
- The project does not use versioning; all current branches of /login-form.php are likely affected
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-06-05 - CVE-2026-11335 published to NVD
- 2026-06-05 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-11335
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is a session fixation flaw [CWE-384] in the PHP login flow of CollegeManagementSystem. When /login-form.php is processed, session_start() is invoked without regenerating the session identifier upon successful authentication. An attacker can supply or pre-set a session identifier through the UserAuthData parameter before the victim authenticates. Once the victim logs in, the server elevates the attacker-controlled session ID to an authenticated state. The attacker can then reuse the same identifier to access the victim's authenticated session.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of session ID regeneration after a privilege boundary change. Secure PHP authentication flows must call session_regenerate_id(true) immediately after credential validation. The login handler accepts a caller-controlled UserAuthData value and starts a session bound to that identifier without rotating it. This violates the principle of issuing a fresh, unpredictable session token at each authentication event.
Attack Vector
The attack vector is network-based and requires limited user interaction. An attacker sends the victim a crafted link or sets a cookie value pointing the victim's browser at the application with a known session identifier. The victim then authenticates normally to the CollegeManagementSystem. After login, the attacker replays the pre-set session identifier and inherits the victim's authenticated session. The published proof of concept increases the likelihood of opportunistic exploitation against exposed instances. See the VulDB entry for CVE-2026-11335 and the GitHub issue tracker for technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-11335
Indicators of Compromise
- Multiple distinct client IP addresses or User-Agent strings authenticating against /login-form.php while sharing the same PHPSESSID cookie value.
- Session identifiers that remain unchanged across pre-authentication and post-authentication HTTP responses from the application.
- Inbound requests to /login-form.php containing externally supplied UserAuthData parameters carrying session-like tokens.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for repeated reuse of a single session identifier across heterogeneous clients hitting /login-form.php.
- Add application-layer logging that records the session ID before and after session_start to flag missing regeneration on login.
- Deploy WAF rules that alert when UserAuthData is supplied via query string or cookie before authentication completes.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward PHP and web server logs to a centralized analytics platform and alert on anomalous session reuse patterns.
- Track authentication success events alongside session ID changes to verify regeneration occurs on every login.
- Monitor outbound links and email traffic referencing the application URL with pre-set session parameters.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-11335
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict public exposure of CollegeManagementSystem instances until the underlying login flow is patched.
- Patch /login-form.php locally to invalidate any pre-existing session and call session_regenerate_id(true) immediately after successful authentication.
- Reject any externally supplied UserAuthData value at the login endpoint and require server-generated session identifiers only.
- Force-logout all active sessions and rotate session cookies after applying the fix.
Patch Information
No official vendor patch is available. The maintainer has not responded to the GitHub issue #4 report referenced in the advisory. Operators must apply a local code fix in /login-form.php to regenerate the session identifier upon authentication and to discard attacker-controlled session input. Review the GitHub project repository for the affected source files.
Workarounds
- Configure PHP with session.use_strict_mode=1 so the runtime rejects uninitialized session identifiers supplied by clients.
- Set session cookies with HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite=Strict attributes to limit attacker control over the identifier.
- Place the application behind a reverse proxy or WAF that strips client-supplied PHPSESSID cookies on requests to /login-form.php.
# Configuration example - harden PHP session handling in php.ini
session.use_strict_mode = 1
session.use_only_cookies = 1
session.cookie_httponly = 1
session.cookie_secure = 1
session.cookie_samesite = "Strict"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
