CVE-2023-49982
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass access controls in the School Fees Management System v1.0, enabling privilege escalation to administrative functions. Attackers can add/delete user accounts and perform other administrative actions. Organizations using this specific software version are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- School Fees Management System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise where attackers gain full administrative control, create backdoor accounts, delete legitimate users, and potentially access sensitive student financial data.
Likely Case
Attackers gain administrative privileges and create persistent access through new admin accounts, potentially leading to data theft or system manipulation.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and authentication mechanisms, impact is limited to unauthorized access attempts that are logged and blocked.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires some level of access to the system but not necessarily admin credentials. The GitHub repository contains proof-of-concept details.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
No official patch available. Consider implementing custom fixes or replacing the software.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Access Control Hardening
allImplement proper authorization checks in the /admin/management/users endpoint
Modify PHP controller to verify user role before processing requests
Web Application Firewall Rules
allBlock unauthorized access to the vulnerable endpoint
Add WAF rule to restrict /admin/management/users to authenticated admin users only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate the system from internet access and restrict to internal network only
- Implement strict network segmentation and monitor all access to the vulnerable endpoint
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test if non-admin users can access /admin/management/users endpoint and perform administrative actionsCheck Version:
Check system version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify that only authenticated admin users can access the /admin/management/users endpoint📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts to /admin/management/users
- User account creation/deletion by non-admin users
- Failed authorization checks
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to /admin/management/users from non-admin IPs
- Unusual user management activity patterns
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri="/admin/management/users" AND user_role!="admin")🔗 References
- https://github.com/geraldoalcantara/CVE-2023-49982
- https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/15697/school-fees-management-system-project-php-and-codeigniter-free-source-code.html
- https://github.com/geraldoalcantara/CVE-2023-49982
- https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/15697/school-fees-management-system-project-php-and-codeigniter-free-source-code.html
