CVE-2024-44636 identifies a SQL Injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20, specifically in the /admin-profile.php script. The vulnerability arises from improper sanitization of the 'adminname' and 'aemailid' parameters, which are directly used in SQL queries without adequate input validation or parameterization. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to craft malicious input that alters the intended SQL commands, potentially extracting sensitive data or modifying database contents. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without requiring any privileges or user interaction, increasing its risk profile. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.5, reflecting medium severity, with the vector indicating network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and partial impact on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild and no official patches are available yet, the presence of this vulnerability in an educational record system poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and integrity of student and administrative data. The CWE-89 classification confirms this is a classic SQL Injection flaw. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could access or alter sensitive student records, administrative credentials, or other protected information stored in the backend database, potentially leading to data breaches or unauthorized administrative actions.

For European organizations, particularly educational institutions using PHPGurukul Student Record System or similar platforms, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive student and staff data, including personal identification and academic records. The compromise of administrative credentials could allow attackers to escalate privileges and manipulate system configurations or data. Such breaches may result in violations of GDPR and other data protection regulations, leading to legal penalties and reputational damage. The integrity of student records could be undermined, affecting academic evaluations and institutional trust. Although availability is not impacted, the confidentiality and integrity losses could disrupt administrative operations and erode stakeholder confidence. The lack of authentication requirement and remote exploitability increase the risk of widespread attacks if the system is exposed to the internet or insufficiently segmented networks. European educational institutions with limited cybersecurity resources may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation and subsequent data exfiltration or manipulation.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately implement input validation and sanitization for the 'adminname' and 'aemailid' parameters, ensuring that all user-supplied inputs are properly escaped or handled via parameterized queries (prepared statements) to prevent SQL Injection. Restrict database user permissions to the minimum necessary to limit the impact of any injection attempts. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit external access to the student record system, ideally restricting it to trusted internal networks or VPN access. Continuous monitoring and logging of database queries and application logs should be established to detect anomalous activities indicative of exploitation attempts. If possible, conduct a code review of the entire application to identify and remediate other potential injection points. Organizations should also prepare incident response plans specific to data breaches involving educational records. Until an official patch is released, consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with SQL Injection detection rules tailored to the affected parameters. Finally, educate administrative users about the risks and signs of compromise to enable early detection and response.