Description

A security flaw has been discovered in SourceCodester Performance Indicator System 1.0. Impacted is an unknown function of the file /opils/staff/edit_credit.php. The manipulation of the argument credit results in sql injection. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been released to the public and may be used for attacks.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.3",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-13T05:16:31.833Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-13T05:16:31.833Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical SQL injection vulnerability exists in SourceCodester Performance Indicator System 1.0 within the /opils/staff/edit_credit.php file. The vulnerability arises due to improper sanitization of user-supplied input provided via the 'credit' argument, allowing an unauthenticated or remote attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands into the backend database. This flaw permits unauthorized access to sensitive information, potential data manipulation, or complete compromise of the underlying database management system. Given that the exploit has been publicly disclosed, the risk level is high. Successful exploitation requires no complex authentication or advanced prerequisites, enabling remote actors to perform unauthorized queries, bypass security controls, and extract data directly from the server hosting the application. The system's integrity and confidentiality are severely compromised by this lack of input validation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is located within the /opils/staff/edit_credit.php file of the SourceCodester Performance Indicator System 1.0. The application fails to properly validate and sanitize the 'credit' parameter before incorporating it into a database query. This constitutes a classic SQL injection flaw, where the input is concatenated directly into the SQL statement without the use of prepared statements or parameterized queries.\nThe attack flow commences when an attacker transmits a crafted HTTP request containing malicious SQL syntax within the 'credit' parameter. Because the application processes this input as part of the query logic, the attacker can manipulate the query structure. For example, by injecting union-based SQL payloads, the attacker can append results from auxiliary tables to the application's output, effectively dumping the contents of the database. Alternatively, error-based or blind injection techniques can be employed to infer database schema details, table names, and record contents.\nThe root cause is the reliance on insecure coding practices where user input is treated as trusted data. The /opils/staff/edit_credit.php component lacks sufficient input filtering mechanisms such as allow-listing, character escaping, or the implementation of database abstraction layers. As this is a web-facing component, the attack is executable remotely, granting the attacker the ability to interact with the database server directly through the application's interface.\nPost-exploitation impact includes unauthorized data exfiltration, modification of existing records, and potential administrative privilege escalation if credentials stored within the database are recovered. In scenarios where the database user has elevated permissions on the underlying operating system—such as the ability to execute system commands through features like 'xp_cmdshell' in certain configurations—the impact could extend to remote code execution and full server compromise. The public availability of a functional exploit significantly lowers the barrier to entry for malicious actors, necessitating immediate remediation to prevent widespread exploitation."
}