CVE-2026-3740: SQL Injection in itsourcecode University

CVE-2026-3740: SQL Injection in University Management System Student Search

A SQL injection vulnerability assigned CVE-2026-3740 has been disclosed in itsourcecode University Management System 1.0, a PHP-based academic management application. The vulnerability exists in the administrative student search endpoint and can be exploited remotely to extract or manipulate data stored in the backend database.

The flaw carries a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.3 (High) and falls under CWE-89 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in SQL Commands (SQL Injection).

Vulnerability Overview

Technical Details

Affected Component

The vulnerability is located in the student search functionality of the administrative interface at /admin_search_student.php. The admin_search_student parameter — used to search for student records — is passed directly into a SQL query without sanitization or parameterization.

Exploitation Mechanism

An attacker with access to the admin search interface can inject SQL syntax into the search field:

POST /admin_search_student.php HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

admin_search_student=test' UNION SELECT NULL,table_name,NULL FROM information_schema.tables--

Successful exploitation enables:

• Database enumeration — listing all tables, columns, and schemas
• Data extraction — dumping student records, grades, personal information, and financial data
• Credential exposure — harvesting hashed passwords for administrator accounts
• Second-order attacks — injecting data that triggers SQL injection elsewhere in the application

Related Vulnerabilities

This CVE is part of a broader wave of SQL injection disclosures against itsourcecode University Management System. Related CVEs including CVE-2026-3411 and CVE-2026-3413 affect other administrative PHP files in the same codebase (/admin_single_student.php, /admin_single_student_update.php), suggesting the root cause is a systemic lack of input validation across the application rather than an isolated oversight.

Attack Flow

1. Attacker identifies a publicly accessible itsourcecode University Management System instance

2. Attacker accesses the admin student search endpoint (/admin_search_student.php)

3. Attacker injects SQL payloads via the admin_search_student POST parameter

4. The application executes the injected SQL against the backend MySQL database

5. Attacker extracts student PII, grades, financial records, and admin credentials

6. With admin credentials, attacker gains full control of the university management system

Broader Impact: University Data at Risk

University management systems handle particularly sensitive data categories, including:

• Student personally identifiable information (PII) — names, addresses, ID numbers, dates of birth
• Academic records — transcripts, grades, enrollment status, disciplinary records
• Financial data — tuition payment records, scholarship information, financial aid details
• Staff and faculty data — employee records, contact information, login credentials

A SQL injection attack against a university management system can therefore result in a large-scale education sector data breach, potentially affecting thousands of students and staff. In many jurisdictions, such a breach triggers mandatory notification obligations under data protection regulations such as FERPA (US), PIPEDA (Canada), or GDPR (EU).

Remediation

No official patch has been released. The following steps should be taken immediately for any production deployment:

Access Restriction

1. Block public access to all admin PHP files — ensure /admin_*.php endpoints are not accessible from the public internet
2. Require VPN or IP allowlisting for any administrative access to the system
3. Disable directory listing on the web server to prevent file enumeration

Input Validation

Apply prepared statements to all database queries:

// Vulnerable pattern
$result = mysqli_query($conn, "SELECT * FROM students WHERE name LIKE '%" . $_POST['admin_search_student'] . "%'");
 
// Secure pattern
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM students WHERE name LIKE ?");
$search = "%" . $_POST['admin_search_student'] . "%";
$stmt->bind_param("s", $search);
$stmt->execute();

Detection

Review web server access logs for suspicious patterns in requests to admin_search_student.php:

grep "admin_search_student" /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep -i "union\|select\|insert\|drop\|--\|'"

Impact Assessment

Key Takeaways

1. CVE-2026-3740 is a CVSS 7.3 SQL injection in itsourcecode University Management System 1.0, affecting the /admin_search_student.php endpoint
2. The admin_search_student parameter is passed unsanitized into SQL queries, enabling remote data extraction
3. Multiple related CVEs (CVE-2026-3411, CVE-2026-3413) affect other admin endpoints in the same application, indicating a systemic code quality issue
4. University deployments face elevated risk due to the sensitive nature of student and financial data involved
5. No patch is available — immediately restrict admin panel access and apply parameterized queries if maintaining a fork

Sources

• CVE-2026-3740 — NIST NVD
• CVE-2026-3740 — TheHackerWire
• CVE-2026-3411: SQL Injection in itsourcecode University Management System — OffSeq Threat Radar
• CVE Alert: CVE-2026-3413 — RedPacket Security

Related Reading

• CVE-2026-3730: SQL Injection in itsourcecode Free Hotel
• CVE-2026-3746: SQL Injection in SourceCodester Simple
• CVE-2018-25165: SQL Injection Vulnerability Disclosed in