A dangerous vulnerability was discovered in SourceCodester Inventory Management System 1.. If you’re running this version, you should pay close attention to this security risk — especially if your application is accessible over the internet.

Let’s break down what CVE-2023-4437 is, how hackers exploit it, and what you can do to protect your system.

What Is CVE-2023-4437?

* Type: SQL Injection (Critical)
* File: app/ajax/search_sell_paymen_report.php
* Parameter: customer
* Impact: Attackers can manipulate SQL queries to read, write, or delete data in your database—remotely.
* Identifier: VDB-237558

This flaw lets attackers insert or “inject” their own SQL commands via the customer argument in an AJAX handler. Because it doesn’t sanitize what’s put into the customer parameter, hostile code can sneak through and execute on your backend.

Let’s look at the likely vulnerable code (based on typical PHP and SourceCodester styles)

// In app/ajax/search_sell_paymen_report.php

$customer = $_GET['customer']; // No sanitization
$sql = "SELECT * FROM payments WHERE customer = '$customer'";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

If there’s no proper sanitization or prepared statements, an attacker can submit something like this to the customer parameter:

anything' OR '1'='1

This changes the SQL query into

SELECT * FROM payments WHERE customer = 'anything' OR '1'='1'

Effectively, the query returns ALL records from the payments table (because '1'='1' is always true), revealing sensitive data.

Worse, combining this with the right payload, attackers could modify or even drop tables.

Example: Using curl to Trigger the Vulnerability

curl "http://target-site.com/app/ajax/search_sell_paymen_report.php?customer='; OR 1=1 -- -"

If more privileges exist, a hacker could write

customer=admin'; DROP TABLE payments; --

Remote Exploit: Anyone who can access the endpoint over the web can attack.

- Privilege Escalation: Attackers may dump sensitive financial data, customer lists, or even escalate access in your system.
- Public Exploit: This exploit has been disclosed publicly, raising the risk of widespread attacks.
- No Authentication Required: The vulnerability doesn’t require past authentication—just access to the URL.


## How to Fix / Mitigation

If you use SourceCodester Inventory Management System 1.

1. Patch It: Check for updates or patches from the SourceCodester repository or Vuldb advisory.
2. Input Sanitization: Change any raw usage of $_GET or $_POST in SQL queries to parameterized queries:

Web Application Firewall: Deploy a WAF that can block simple SQLi patterns.

4. Restrict Database Privileges: Make sure the database user doesn’t have more permissions than required.

References & Further Reading

- NIST NVD: CVE-2023-4437
- VulDB Advisory - VDB-237558
- SourceCodester Inventory Management System
- OWASP SQL Injection Prevention Cheat Sheet

Summary

CVE-2023-4437 is a critical blind spot in SourceCodester Inventory Management System 1., allowing remote SQL injection via the customer parameter in the app/ajax/search_sell_paymen_report.php file. If you’re running this system, address the vulnerability immediately — all someone needs is a web browser to start snooping through your database or worse!

Stay aware, patch fast, and always sanitize your input!

*This article is exclusive and written in simple terms for security admins, developers, and IT managers. Please share with your IT security team and community to keep everyone safe.*

Timeline

Published on: 08/20/2023 22:15:11 UTC
Last modified on: 11/07/2023 04:22:34 UTC