CVE-2026-3164: News Portal Project SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2026-3164 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in itsourcecode News Portal Project version 1.0. This vulnerability affects the file /admin/contactus.php where improper handling of the pagetitle argument allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially allowing unauthorized access to the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially gain further access to the underlying system through the News Portal Project's administrative interface.

Affected Products

• itsourcecode News Portal Project 1.0
• clive_21 news_portal_project

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-25 - CVE-2026-3164 published to NVD
• 2026-02-25 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-3164

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the administrative contact management functionality of the News Portal Project. The /admin/contactus.php file fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input through the pagetitle parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This constitutes an injection vulnerability (CWE-74) where untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query.

The vulnerability is accessible over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of information, modification of data, and potential disruption of database availability. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the contactus.php file. The pagetitle argument is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper sanitization or use of prepared statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be launched remotely by sending crafted HTTP requests to the /admin/contactus.php endpoint. An attacker can manipulate the pagetitle parameter to inject SQL syntax that alters the query logic. This could enable data exfiltration through UNION-based attacks, authentication bypass, or data manipulation through UPDATE/DELETE statements.

Since no authenticated session is required to exploit this vulnerability, any network-connected attacker with access to the administrative interface can attempt exploitation. The vulnerability allows for remote exploitation with low attack complexity.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-3164

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /admin/contactus.php containing SQL syntax characters (single quotes, double dashes, UNION keywords)
• Database error messages appearing in application logs related to the contactus functionality
• Unexpected database queries or access patterns in database audit logs
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized modifications to contact-related tables

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in the pagetitle parameter
• Enable detailed logging for the /admin/contactus.php endpoint and monitor for suspicious input patterns
• Configure database query logging to identify anomalous or unexpected queries originating from the application
• Deploy intrusion detection signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor HTTP access logs for requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the affected endpoint
• Set up alerts for database errors related to syntax issues or unexpected query behavior
• Review application logs regularly for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Track and alert on any bulk data access or unusual data retrieval patterns from the database

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-3164

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /admin/ directory using network-level controls or authentication mechanisms
• Implement input validation to filter special characters and SQL keywords from the pagetitle parameter
• Consider taking the affected administrative functionality offline until a permanent fix is applied
• Review database privileges to ensure the application uses least-privilege database accounts

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability at this time. Organizations using itsourcecode News Portal Project 1.0 should implement the workarounds below and monitor the IT Source Code website and VulDB advisory for updates regarding an official fix.

Workarounds

• Modify the contactus.php source code to use parameterized queries or prepared statements for all database interactions
• Implement server-side input validation to whitelist acceptable characters for the pagetitle parameter
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Restrict access to the administrative interface to trusted IP addresses only

# Example .htaccess configuration to restrict admin access
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>