CVE-2026-2161 is a high severity SQL injection flaw (CVSS 7.3) in itsourcecode Directory Management System 1.0. The email parameter of /admin/forget-password.php reaches a database query unsafely. The record lists no fixed version, so remove the app from public reach and fix the query yourself.
What's affected
The record names itsourcecode Directory Management System 1.0. The weakness is classed as CWE-89 (SQL injection) and CWE-74 (injection). The vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L means network reachable, low complexity, no login, no user interaction.
No fixed version is listed. I could not find a vendor advisory or patch to confirm one, so treat every copy of this release as affected until you hear otherwise. The record says a working exploit has been publicly disclosed. It does not say the flaw is exploited in the wild, and it is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
How to check if you're exposed
Start by finding out whether you run it at all. These apps are often copied onto a server for a class project or an internal pilot and then forgotten.
find /var/www -type f -path "*/admin/forget-password.php" 2>/dev/null
If that returns a hit, open the file and look at how the email value is used. Concatenating it into an SQL string is the problem. Then check your web server logs for requests to that file from addresses you do not recognize, and look for unusually long or odd looking values in the email parameter.
For any dependency manifest the project does ship, the free in-browser scan shows known issues in its packages.
What to do now
- Take the app off the public internet, or put it behind a VPN or an IP allowlist, today.
- Replace string building in /admin/forget-password.php with a prepared statement and bound parameters. The same fix belongs in every other file that builds queries from request input.
- Run the database account with the least privilege the app needs. It should not own the schema, and it should not be able to read tables the app never touches.
- Watch the vendor page and the CVE-2026-2161 entry for a patched release, and retire the app if none appears.
Why it matters
A password reset page has to be reachable by someone who is not logged in, so it sits at the edge of the app by design. A flaw there needs no account to try, and it touches the account recovery path that users trust.
SQL injection happens when request text is treated as part of a query instead of as a plain value. The fix is to send the query and the values separately.
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?');
$stmt->execute([$id]);
Quick check
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-2161?
The record lists none, and I could not confirm a vendor fix. Check the vendor site and the NVD entry before assuming one exists.
Why is a reset page a sensitive place for this bug?
It must work for logged out visitors, so it cannot hide behind a login. Any weakness in how it handles the email value is reachable by anyone.
Sources
- Researcher report on GitHub (linked from the record)
- NVD record for CVE-2026-2161
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
