CVE-2026-13521
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA vulnerability was identified in SourceCodester Class and Exam Timetabling System 1.0/5.php. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file /preview5.php. Such manipulation of the argument course_year_section leads to sql injection. The attack may be performed from remote. The exploit is publicly available and might be used.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Class and Exam Timetabling System 1.0's preview5.php script. The course_year_section parameter is not properly sanitized before use in database queries, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious SQL code.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify SourceCodester Timetabling System installationLocate the web application directory and check for files typical of SourceCodester Class and Exam Timetabling System (e.g., index.php, login pages, timetable-related scripts). Verify the application name in source code headers or README files.Affected if The application SourceCodester Class and Exam Timetabling System is present on the server
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Confirm application version is 1.0Search for version indicators in the application source code such as version.php, config files, or comments in PHP files containing '1.0' or 'version'. Check footer files or admin dashboard for version display.Affected if The installed version is 1.0 (or an unpatched version of this system)
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Locate the vulnerable preview5.php fileSearch the web root directory for the file preview5.php. Common paths may include /, /timetable/, /schedules/, or /admin/ directories. Use file system search: find . -name 'preview5.php'Affected if The file preview5.php exists in the web-accessible directory
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Check if course_year_section parameter is processedOpen preview5.php and examine the source code for usage of $_GET or $_POST['course_year_section']. Look for SQL query construction that directly incorporates this parameter without using prepared statements or escaping functions.Affected if The course_year_section parameter is used in SQL queries without parameterized queries or proper escaping
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Verify parameter is accessible from networkAttempt a test request to preview5.php with a benign course_year_section value (e.g., ?course_year_section=1) to confirm the script responds and processes the parameter. Check web server access logs for requests to this endpoint.Affected if The preview5.php script is accessible via HTTP/HTTPS and processes the course_year_section parameter
A user is affected if SourceCodester Class and Exam Timetabling System 1.0 is installed with preview5.php accessible and the course_year_section parameter is handled in SQL queries without parameterized statements.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataReplace dynamic SQL queries with parameterized queries/prepared statements in preview5.php for the course_year_section parameter, or implement proper input validation and escaping. Apply vendor patch if available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-13521 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-13521 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data