CVE-2026-37593: Work From Home Attendance System SQLi

CVE-2026-37593 Overview

CVE-2026-37593 is a SQL Injection vulnerability affecting SourceCodester Online Employees Work From Home Attendance System v1.0. The vulnerability exists in the file /wfh_attendance/admin/view_att.php, where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being included in SQL queries. This allows authenticated attackers with high privileges to inject malicious SQL statements and potentially extract sensitive information from the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with administrative privileges can exploit this SQL Injection flaw to read sensitive database contents, potentially exposing employee attendance records, user credentials, and other confidential information stored in the system.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester Online Employees Work From Home Attendance System v1.0
• Systems running the vulnerable /wfh_attendance/admin/view_att.php endpoint
• PHP-based deployments with MySQL/MariaDB backends

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-14 - CVE-2026-37593 published to NVD
• 2026-04-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-37593

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) occurs in the administrative interface of the Online Employees Work From Home Attendance System. The vulnerable endpoint /wfh_attendance/admin/view_att.php fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into database queries. When an authenticated administrator interacts with this endpoint, malicious SQL payloads can be injected to manipulate the query logic.

The attack requires network access and high-level privileges (administrative authentication), which limits the attack surface. However, once an attacker has administrative access, they can leverage this vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the database, including employee records, attendance logs, and potentially stored credentials.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the use of unsanitized user input in SQL query construction. The application directly concatenates or interpolates user-controlled parameters into SQL statements without using parameterized queries or prepared statements. This classic SQL Injection pattern allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network against the /wfh_attendance/admin/view_att.php endpoint. An attacker must first authenticate to the administrative panel with high-privilege credentials. Once authenticated, the attacker can craft malicious requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting vulnerable parameters.

The vulnerability allows for data extraction through techniques such as UNION-based injection, boolean-based blind injection, or time-based blind injection, depending on the specific implementation. Since the attack requires administrative privileges, insider threats or compromised admin accounts represent the primary risk vectors.

For detailed technical analysis and proof-of-concept information, refer to the GitHub CVE Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-37593

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages appearing in application logs from /wfh_attendance/admin/view_att.php
• Abnormal database query patterns or unexpected SELECT statements in database logs
• HTTP requests to view_att.php containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1, or comment sequences like -- and #
• Unexpected data access patterns by administrative accounts

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in requests to the attendance system
• Enable detailed logging for the /wfh_attendance/admin/ directory and monitor for suspicious parameter values
• Configure database query logging to identify anomalous query structures or unauthorized data access
• Deploy intrusion detection signatures matching common SQL injection payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor administrative authentication events for unusual login patterns or geographic anomalies
• Set up alerts for database queries returning unusually large result sets from the attendance system
• Review access logs for the view_att.php endpoint and flag requests with encoded characters or SQL metacharacters
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect direct SQL command execution outside normal application behavior

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-37593

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the administrative interface using IP allowlisting or VPN requirements
• Audit administrative accounts and revoke any unnecessary high-privilege access
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection detection rules in front of the application
• Review access logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. SourceCodester applications are typically community-maintained, and users should check the GitHub CVE Report for the latest information on available fixes or community patches.

Organizations using this system should consider implementing code-level fixes by modifying the view_att.php file to use prepared statements with parameterized queries, or migrating to an actively maintained attendance management solution.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation and sanitization at the application level for all user-controllable parameters
• Use a reverse proxy or WAF to filter requests containing SQL injection patterns before they reach the application
• Restrict database user permissions to limit the impact of successful SQL injection attacks
• Consider disabling the vulnerable endpoint until a proper fix can be implemented

# Example: Restrict admin access via .htaccess
# Place in /wfh_attendance/admin/.htaccess
<Files "view_att.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Files>