CVE-2026-78143: SQL Injection in Barangay Resident Profiling Management System

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-78143 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability affecting code-projects Barangay Resident Profiling Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in the residents.php file within the Resident Search Functionality component, where unsanitized user input in the Search argument is passed directly to SQL queries. Remote exploitation is possible, and the attack vector is publicly accessible.

CVSS Score: 7.3 (High)

Vulnerability Overview

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation in the resident search handler. The Search parameter submitted via the search form is interpolated directly into SQL query strings without parameterization or escaping, enabling classic SQL injection attacks.

Attack Chain

1. Attacker identifies a deployment of Barangay Resident Profiling System 1.0
2. Navigates to residents.php and submits a crafted Search payload
3. Malicious SQL is injected into the backend query
4. Database responds with unauthorized data (dump, authentication bypass, etc.)
5. Attacker extracts resident PII or escalates access

Technical Details

Affected Component

Vulnerability Type

CWE-89 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command (SQL Injection)

SQL injection via GET or POST parameter allows an unauthenticated attacker to:

• Extract data from the underlying database (resident names, addresses, IDs, contact info)
• Potentially enumerate database structure
• In misconfigured deployments, achieve file read/write via LOAD_FILE / INTO OUTFILE

Affected Systems

This project is a PHP/MySQL government-records web application primarily deployed by barangay (village-level local government) offices in the Philippines to manage resident profiles, household data, and census information.

Remediation

Immediate Mitigations

As no vendor patch has been issued at the time of this advisory, administrators should apply the following mitigations immediately:

1. Parameterized Queries (Code Fix)

Replace any direct interpolation of the Search parameter with PDO or MySQLi prepared statements:

// Vulnerable (DO NOT USE)
$query = "SELECT * FROM residents WHERE name LIKE '%" . $_GET['Search'] . "%'";
 
// Secure — use prepared statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM residents WHERE name LIKE ?");
$stmt->execute(['%' . $_GET['Search'] . '%']);
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();

2. Web Application Firewall

Deploy WAF rules to block common SQL injection patterns targeting residents.php:

SecRule ARGS:Search "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:10002026,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Blocked — residents.php'"

3. Restrict Network Access

If the application is only used internally, restrict residents.php to trusted IP ranges via .htaccess or server firewall rules:

<Files "residents.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
</Files>

4. Input Validation

Apply server-side allowlisting on the Search parameter — resident names should only contain alphanumeric characters, spaces, and common punctuation:

$search = preg_replace('/[^a-zA-Z0-9\s\-\.\,]/', '', $_GET['Search']);

Detection

Web Server Log Pattern

Look for SQL metacharacters in residents.php requests:

grep -i "residents\.php" /var/log/apache2/access.log \
  | grep -iE "('|--|union|select|drop|insert|;|%27|%3B)"

SIEM Query (Splunk)

index=web sourcetype=access_combined uri_path="*/residents.php"
| regex _raw="(?i)(union|select|insert|drop|--|\x27|%27)"
| stats count by src_ip, uri_query
| where count > 5

Risk Context

While the affected system is a small open-source project targeting local government offices, the sensitivity of the data stored — resident names, addresses, IDs, household information — makes exploitation especially harmful. Barangay offices in the Philippines frequently operate on limited IT budgets with minimal security oversight, increasing the likelihood of unpatched deployments remaining in production.

Attackers targeting this class of application may seek to:

• Harvest PII for identity fraud or social engineering
• Demonstrate capability against government-adjacent infrastructure
• Access demographic data for targeted phishing campaigns

References

• NIST NVD — CVE-2026-78143
• OWASP SQL Injection Prevention Cheat Sheet
• CWE-89: SQL Injection