External risk intelligence

Sourcecodester Hotel Management SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2020-21012

This software is a management system designed to handle customer, room, and booking details for a hotel. Such applications are typically deployed as web-based interfaces to facilitate administrative tasks and are often accessible via a network, making them likely to have a web-facing surface.

SQL Injection

Nikhil Bhalerao Hotel And Lodge Management System

2.0

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This vulnerability affects the Sourcecodester Hotel and Lodge Management System, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to inject and execute SQL commands by exploiting a flaw in the email parameter. This could potentially lead to unauthorized access to or manipulation of sensitive data within the system.

Unauthenticated database access via system flaws.
Manages critical customer and booking information.
Confirm system relevance and assess exposure.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted requests containing malicious SQL commands to the email parameter of several management pages. This can allow them to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the system.

No authentication required.
Inputting malicious SQL via email parameter.
Arbitrary SQL command execution.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands by manipulating the email parameter on various administrative pages. This could lead to unauthorized access and modification of sensitive hotel management data, such as customer information, room bookings, and financial details.

System and customer data exposure.
SQL commands via unauthenticated email parameter.
Unauthorized data access and modification.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The Sourcecodester Hotel and Lodge Management System presents a critical SQL injection vulnerability in version 2.0, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands. Given its web-based nature for managing sensitive data like customer and booking details, responsibility likely falls to application owners and infrastructure teams responsible for hosting and securing the web application. The first practical step is to identify all instances of this software, confirm its network exposure, and then engage the accountable owner for risk assessment and remediation planning.

Identify accountable application owners.
Verify system exposure and business criticality.
Plan risk-based remediation with stakeholders.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Sourcecodester Hotel and Lodge Management System?

It is a web-based management application designed to help businesses organize hotel operations. Users typically utilize it to manage sensitive records, including customer profiles, room availability, booking details, currency settings, and tax information through a centralized interface.

What does CVE-2020-21012 mean for the software?

This vulnerability is classified as Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command, or SQL Injection (CWE-89). It means the application fails to safely handle data entered into specific fields, allowing an attacker to inject and run their own database commands instead of just processing provided information.

How does an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker exploits the flaw by sending a specially crafted request containing malicious SQL commands to the email parameter on specific edit pages. Simply browsing the site or interacting with non-editable pages does not trigger the vulnerability; it requires a targeted attempt to input malicious data into the vulnerable fields.

Is my instance of this software at risk?

If you are running version 2.0, your system is affected. According to Halo Surface Signal, because this software is a web-based management system, it is often configured with a network-facing interface to allow for administrative tasks, which increases the likelihood that it is accessible to remote attackers over the network.

How should I respond to this vulnerability?

Your first step is to locate every instance of this application within your environment. Verify whether these systems are reachable over the network, determine who owns and manages the software, and coordinate with them to assess the data risk and plan for necessary security updates or configuration changes.

References

github.com/hitIer/web_test/tree/master/hotel

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.