In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, e-learning has come to play a crucial role in educational institutions around the world. To manage the ever-growing demands of these institutions, various E-learning management systems are actively being utilized. But, as with any software, these systems may come with some inherent risks, such as security vulnerabilities.

Recently, a critical SQL Injection vulnerability, identified by the CVE-2024-54920, was found in the kashipara E-learning Management System v1.. This specific vulnerability pertains to the /teacher_signup.php file, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands and gain unauthorized database access using the firstname, lastname, and class_id parameters.

This post will detail the specifics of this vulnerability, including code snippets, links to the original references, and exploitation details.

Code Snippet

The vulnerability in the /teacher_signup.php file revolves around the insecure handling of user input for the firstname (fname), lastname (lname), and class_id parameters. Here's a simplified example of the code snippet in the vulnerable version (v1.) of the /teacher_signup.php:

$fname=$_REQUEST["fname"];
$lname=$_REQUEST["lname"];
$class_id=$_REQUEST["class_id"];

$sql = "INSERT INTO teachers (fname, lname, class_id) VALUES ('$fname', '$lname', '$class_id');";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

Exploitation Details

Based on the above code snippet, an attacker with knowledge of this vulnerability can easily construct an exploit using SQL Injection techniques. By injecting arbitrary SQL commands within the user-inputted fields, an attacker can potentially execute unauthorized SQL queries to the underlying database.

For instance, an attacker can create a malicious string of SQL commands carrying the following payloads:

False payload: ' OR '1'='2

By injecting these payloads into the vulnerable parameters, the attacker can craft a series of crafted requests similar to the following example:

http://targetsite.com/teacher_signup.php?fname=John&lname=Doe'+OR+'1'='1&class_id=1

This request will effectively execute the following malicious SQL query

INSERT INTO teachers (fname, lname, class_id) VALUES ('John', 'Doe' OR '1'='1', 1);

As a result, the attacker can potentially bypass authentication logic, retrieve sensitive information, and execute malicious commands against the database without proper authorization.

Original References

- CVE-2024-54920: The official CVE entry for this vulnerability.
- Kashipara E-learning Management System v1. - SQL Injection: Original exploit detailing the issue and exploit details.

Mitigation Steps

To mitigate this specific vulnerability, developers are encouraged to follow the precautions given below:

1. Employ parameterized queries or prepared statements when building SQL queries, which can significantly reduce the risk of SQL injection attacks.
2. Sanitize and validate all user inputs, ensuring that data entered by users does not contain malicious SQL content that may compromise the application's security.
3. Implement strong access controls, authentication, and authorization mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive information and actions within the application.

Conclusion

Authentication vulnerabilities such as SQL injection are a significant concern for any software application, and it's crucial for developers to stay vigilant in identifying and mitigating them. This post serves as an informative resource for security professionals and developers alike in understanding the specifics of CVE-2024-54920, with exclusive content ranging from code snippets, original references, and exploitation details.

Timeline

Published on: 12/09/2024 15:15:21 UTC
Last modified on: 12/10/2024 15:41:01 UTC