CVE-2022-28568
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-28568 is a critical vulnerability in Sourcecodester Doctor's Appointment System 1.0 that allows authenticated administrators to upload malicious files disguised as images, leading to remote code execution. Attackers who gain administrator access or exploit authentication weaknesses can execute arbitrary commands on the server. This affects all installations of version 1.0 of this healthcare management software.
💻 Affected Systems
- Sourcecodester Doctor's Appointment System
📦 What is this software?
Simple Doctor\'s Appointment System by Simple Doctor\'s Appointment System Project
View all CVEs affecting Simple Doctor\'s Appointment System →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise allowing attackers to install backdoors, steal sensitive patient data, deploy ransomware, or pivot to other network systems.
Likely Case
Attackers upload web shells to gain persistent access, exfiltrate appointment records and patient information, and potentially deface the website.
If Mitigated
With proper file upload validation and web application firewalls, exploitation attempts are blocked and logged for investigation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires administrator credentials, but the vulnerability is trivial to exploit once authenticated. Public proof-of-concept code is available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not available
Vendor Advisory: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
No official patch exists. Consider migrating to alternative appointment systems or implementing strict workarounds.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Strict File Upload Validation
allAdd server-side validation to restrict uploaded files to specific image extensions and verify file content types.
Modify PHP upload handling code to validate file extensions and MIME types
Restrict Upload Directory Permissions
linuxSet upload directory permissions to prevent execution of uploaded files.
chmod 644 /path/to/upload/directory/*
chown www-data:www-data /path/to/upload/directory
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable image upload functionality entirely in the administrator panel
- Implement a web application firewall (WAF) with rules to block malicious file uploads and RCE attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if you're running Doctor's Appointment System version 1.0 and test if you can upload PHP files via the image upload feature in the admin panel.Check Version:
Check the software version in the admin panel or look for version indicators in the source code.Verify Fix Applied:
Attempt to upload a malicious file (e.g., test.php) through the image upload feature - it should be rejected with proper validation.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file uploads with non-image extensions
- Multiple failed upload attempts
- Access to uploaded PHP files in web logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to upload endpoints with suspicious file contents
- Subsequent requests to uploaded executable files
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND (uri="/admin/upload.php" OR uri MATCHES "*.php" AND referrer="/admin/upload.php")