CVE-2026-5180 Overview
CVE-2026-5180 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Simple Doctors Appointment System 1.0. The flaw resides in /admin/ajax.php?action=login2, where the email parameter is incorporated into a database query without proper sanitization. Remote attackers can manipulate this parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic exploitation against exposed instances. The weakness is classified under [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).
Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can inject SQL through the admin login endpoint, potentially extracting credentials, bypassing authentication, or tampering with appointment data.
Affected Products
- SourceCodester Simple Doctors Appointment System 1.0
- Vulnerable endpoint: /admin/ajax.php?action=login2
- Vulnerable parameter: email
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-03-31 - CVE-2026-5180 published to NVD
- 2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-5180
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability affects the administrative login handler implemented in /admin/ajax.php when invoked with the action=login2 parameter. The application accepts the email value from the client and concatenates it directly into a SQL query used to validate administrator credentials. Because no parameterized queries or input sanitization are applied, an attacker can break out of the intended string context and append arbitrary SQL clauses.
The public disclosure of the exploit details lowers the barrier to exploitation. Attackers do not require authentication or user interaction, and the attack is reachable over the network. Successful exploitation can lead to authentication bypass, credential harvesting from the user table, or unauthorized read and write access to appointment records and personally identifiable information stored in the database.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements passed to the SQL interpreter [CWE-74]. The email argument is interpolated into a query string without prepared statements or escaping. Any character that has syntactic meaning in SQL, including single quotes, comment markers, and union operators, is treated as code rather than data.
Attack Vector
An attacker sends a crafted HTTP POST request to /admin/ajax.php?action=login2 with a malicious payload in the email field. Typical exploitation techniques include boolean-based blind injection, UNION-based extraction, and time-based blind injection using database-specific functions. Because the endpoint is part of the admin login workflow, a successful authentication bypass grants administrative access to the appointment system.
No verified proof-of-concept code is reproduced here. Technical details are available in the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and the VulDB Vulnerability Report.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-5180
Indicators of Compromise
- HTTP requests to /admin/ajax.php?action=login2 containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION, SLEEP(, or OR 1=1 in the email parameter.
- Unusual administrator logins originating from unfamiliar IP addresses shortly after malformed email values appear in web server logs.
- Database error messages or anomalously long response times tied to the login2 action, suggesting blind injection probing.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server and application logs for non-email syntactic content in the email POST parameter on the login2 endpoint.
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL injection signatures targeting authentication endpoints.
- Correlate failed logins, database errors, and outbound data transfers from the application host to identify exploitation chains.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose query logging on the backend database and alert on queries that reference the admin user table with suspicious WHERE clauses.
- Monitor for new or modified administrator accounts and unexpected changes to appointment records.
- Track egress traffic from the web application server for signs of database content exfiltration.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-5180
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict network access to /admin/ paths to trusted management IP ranges until a fix is available.
- Disable or remove the Simple Doctors Appointment System 1.0 deployment if it is not essential, given that the exploit is public.
- Rotate all administrator credentials and review the database for unauthorized accounts or modifications.
Patch Information
No official vendor patch is referenced in the available advisory data for SourceCodester Simple Doctors Appointment System 1.0. Operators should monitor the SourceCodester project page and the VulDB CTI Analysis for fix announcements. In the interim, apply source-level remediation by replacing string concatenation in the login2 handler with parameterized queries using PDO or mysqli prepared statements, and validate that the email parameter conforms to an email format before processing.
Workarounds
- Place the application behind a WAF with SQL injection signatures enabled for the /admin/ajax.php path.
- Enforce input validation at a reverse proxy by rejecting requests where the email field contains characters outside the standard email grammar.
- Apply least-privilege database accounts so the web application cannot perform schema changes or read unrelated tables.
# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL metacharacters in the email parameter
SecRule ARGS:email "@rx (?i)(['\";]|--|\b(union|select|sleep|or\s+1=1)\b)" \
"id:1026518,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'CVE-2026-5180 SQLi attempt on login2'"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
