CVE-2018-18757
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2018-18757 is a SQL injection vulnerability in Open Faculty Evaluation System 5.6 for PHP 5.6 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via submit_feedback.php. This affects organizations using this specific educational software version, potentially exposing sensitive student and faculty data.
💻 Affected Systems
- Open Faculty Evaluation System
📦 What is this software?
Open Faculty Evaluation System by Open Faculty Evaluation System Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data manipulation, or full system takeover via SQL injection to execute arbitrary commands.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive student/faculty data, grade manipulation, or system disruption.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and database permissions restricting damage to non-critical data.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit code is publicly available on Exploit-DB (ID: 45703), making this easily exploitable.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
No official patch available. Consider upgrading to a newer version if available or implementing workarounds.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Sanitization
allImplement proper input validation and parameterized queries in submit_feedback.php
Modify submit_feedback.php to use prepared statements with PDO or mysqli
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
allDeploy WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns
Configure WAF to block SQL injection patterns targeting submit_feedback.php
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict network access to the evaluation system to trusted IPs only
- Implement database user with minimal privileges for the application
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if running Open Faculty Evaluation System 5.6 for PHP 5.6 and test submit_feedback.php endpoint for SQL injection vulnerabilities.Check Version:
Check system documentation or configuration files for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Test submit_feedback.php with SQL injection payloads to ensure they are blocked or sanitized.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple failed login attempts or unusual parameter values in web server logs for submit_feedback.php
Network Indicators:
- SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests to submit_feedback.php
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND uri="*submit_feedback.php*" AND (param="*' OR *" OR param="*;--*" OR param="*UNION*" OR param="*SELECT*" OR param="*INSERT*" OR param="*UPDATE*")