CVE-2026-97649: Student Management System Auth Bypass

CVE-2026-97649 is an authentication bypass flaw in student-management-system that exploits default credentials in example_lite.sql. Attackers can remotely compromise systems using publicly available exploits. This post covers technical details, affected versions, impact assessment, and mitigation strategies.

CVE-2026-97649 Overview

CVE-2026-97649 affects the ningzichun student-management-system project up to commit 98760f5711cf6dc8b4adca53a9e207ca49b02ebf. The flaw resides in the example_lite.sql seed file, which ships the application with default credentials [CWE-1392]. An attacker reachable over the network can authenticate using the shipped credentials and operate as a provisioned user. The project maintainer was notified through a public issue report but has not responded. A public exploit is referenced in the advisory, increasing the risk of opportunistic abuse against exposed instances.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can log in to deployed instances using the default credentials embedded in example_lite.sql, gaining access to application functions without further exploitation steps.

Affected Products

ningzichun student-management-system up to commit 98760f5711cf6dc8b4adca53a9e207ca49b02ebf
Deployments initialized with the example_lite.sql seed database
Any production instance that retains the shipped default accounts

Discovery Timeline

2026-09-25 - CVE-2026-97649 published to NVD
2026-09-25 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-97649

Vulnerability Analysis

The student-management-system project ships a sample SQL file, example_lite.sql, that populates the application database with preconfigured user accounts and known passwords. Operators who import this file during setup inherit those accounts in production. Because the credentials are published in the repository, any attacker can read them and authenticate directly against an exposed instance. The weakness is categorized under CWE-1392: Use of Default Credentials. The advisory indicates a public exploit exists, lowering the barrier to abuse against unpatched deployments.

Root Cause

The root cause is the inclusion of fixed, documented credentials inside a distributed initialization artifact. The project does not force a password rotation during installation and does not warn operators to replace the seed accounts before exposing the service.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is remote and requires no user interaction. An attacker locates an internet-reachable deployment, references the credentials in example_lite.sql from the public repository, and submits a standard login request. Once authenticated, the attacker exercises whatever functionality the seeded role permits, including viewing or modifying student records.

No verified proof-of-concept code is included in this advisory. See the GitHub Issue #13 and the VulDB CVE-2026-97649 entry for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-97649

Indicators of Compromise

Successful logins to the application using usernames defined in example_lite.sql (for example, administrative or demo accounts).
Authentication events originating from unexpected external IP addresses shortly after a new deployment goes online.
Database queries or administrative actions performed by seeded accounts that should have been disabled.

Detection Strategies

Audit the application database for accounts whose password hashes match those present in example_lite.sql.
Review web server access logs for POST requests to the login endpoint followed by session creation for default usernames.
Correlate first-login timestamps with deployment timestamps to identify instances that were never hardened.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on any authentication to accounts flagged as default or demo in the application user table.
Monitor outbound network behavior from the application host for signs of post-authentication data exfiltration.
Track changes to user, grade, or enrollment tables made by seeded accounts.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-97649

Immediate Actions Required

Disable or delete every account created by example_lite.sql before exposing the application to any network.
Rotate credentials for any administrative or demo account that may have been imported from the sample seed file.
Restrict network access to the application to trusted sources until credential hygiene is verified.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the maintainer has not responded to the issue report and no official patch is available. Monitor the ningzichun student-management-system repository and the VulDB vulnerability record for updates.

Workarounds

Replace example_lite.sql with a custom initialization script that provisions unique credentials per deployment.
Enforce a first-login password change for all accounts created during installation.
Place the application behind an authenticating reverse proxy or VPN until seeded accounts are removed.

bash

# Configuration example: remove default accounts after import
mysql -u root -p student_db -e "DELETE FROM users WHERE username IN ('admin','test','demo');"
mysql -u root -p student_db -e "UPDATE users SET password_hash = NULL WHERE password_last_changed IS NULL;"