CVE-2026-3261 Exploited in itsourcecode School Management System
A high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in the itSourceCode School Management System (SMS) version 1.0 has been publicly disclosed, complete with an exploit that could expose sensitive student data, administrative credentials, and school records to remote attackers.
Tracked as CVE-2026-3261, the flaw earned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I: L/A:L), signaling high risk due to its remote, unauthenticated nature.
The vulnerability resides in the /settings/index.php endpoint, where the “ID” parameter in the Setting Handler component lacks proper sanitization.
Attackers can manipulate this argument to inject malicious SQL payloads, potentially dumping databases, altering records, or escalating privileges. Published on February 26, 2026, via VulDB (ID 347984), the advisory notes: “No exploitation known” officially, but a proof-of-concept exploit is already circulating on GitHub, contradicting initial assessments and heightening urgency.
“This is a textbook unauthenticated SQLi in a widely used open-source school platform,” says cybersecurity analyst Dr. Priya Raman, who reviewed the vectors. “With no privileges required and no user interaction needed, bots could scan and hit this en masse. Schools on shared hosting are prime targets.”
Exploited inthe source codee School Management System
The attack vector is straightforward: a remote attacker crafts a GET or POST request to /settings/index.php?ID=1' UNION SELECT ...--. Without parameterized queries, the input concatenates directly into backend SQL, like:
This bypasses filters, enabling data exfiltration (C: Low), integrity tampering (I: Low), or availability disruption (A: Low). The E:P (Exploit Published) modifier bumps effective risk, while RL:X/RC: R indicates no vendor response yet. CWE-89 classification underscores poor input validation in PHP apps.
VulDB references point to submitter evidence (vuldb.com/?submit.749364) and a GitHub issue (Ning-BJ/cve #1), with the vendor site (itsourcecode.com) silent so far. AI-driven risk analysis flags it as “high risk” due to the public exploit, urging priority remediation even without KEV or EPSS data.
Primarily self-hosted SMS v1.0 instances popular among budget-conscious schools in developing regions like India and Southeast Asia. Public-facing deployments without WAFs are at risk ofautomated exploitation. An attacker could:
- Extract student PII (names, IDs, grades).
- Pivot to linked services (e.g., payment gateways).
- Implant backdoors via modified settings.
Post-exploit signs include SQL errors in logs, anomalous UNION queries, or spikes in admin user activity.
Detection:
- Monitor
/settings/index.phpfor SQL errors or suspicious ID patterns (e.g., via ELK Stack or Splunk). - WAF rules for SQLi signatures:
1' OR '1'='1, UNION-based payloads. - DB logs for unusual SELECTs on settings tables.
Mitigation:
- Patch Immediately: Await vendor fix; upgrade if available.
- Quick Hardens: Block public
/settings/*access via .htaccess or nginx rules; use prepared statements. - Defenses: Deploy ModSecurity CRS, use least-privilege DB users, and escape inputs (e.g., PDO::PARAM_INT for IDs).
- Response: Backup databases, scan for compromises, and monitor EPSS for exploit trends.
Schools should treat this as priority 1 if facing the web directly. “Minimal preconditions make this a wormable risk in edu networks,” warns Raman.
Site: cybersecuritypath.com
Reference: Source
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