# CVE-2026-125076: SourceCodester Smart Attendance System missing authentication in JSON endpoint

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125076-a-vulnerability-was-found-in-sourcecodester-smart-attendance  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-11-10. Updated: 2026-11-10  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-125076 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.3 · Published 2026-11-10

SourceCodester's Smart Attendance System is a web application for tracking employee or student attendance via QR code scanning. The system's attendance recording API lacks authentication checks, allowing anyone on the network to forge attendance records, modify student data, and enumerate valid student identities without logging in. An attacker could massively corrupt attendance logs or harvest student personal information.

Technologies: [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System with QR Code Scanner](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/smart-attendance-system-with-qr-code-scanner). Vendors: [SourceCodester](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/sourcecodester).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-125076 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-125076 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-125076?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.3, published 10 November 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** SourceCodester Smart Attendance System with QR Code Scanner 1.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-125076?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Add authentication checks to api/attendance_handler.php by requiring session validation (include auth.php). Additionally, implement per-kiosk tokens, rate limiting on the endpoint, and validation of student_code against an allowlist pattern. Return generic error messages instead of confirming student existence. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-125076 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-125076?** Check whether you run SourceCodester Smart Attendance System with QR Code Scanner at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix


Add authentication checks to api/attendance_handler.php by requiring session validation (include auth.php). Additionally, implement per-kiosk tokens, rate limiting on the endpoint, and validation of student_code against an allowlist pattern. Return generic error messages instead of confirming student existence.

## Technical details

The api/attendance_handler.php JSON endpoint processes POST requests to record attendance without verifying the caller's identity or session. The vulnerable parameter is student_code, which is passed directly to an SQL INSERT statement into attendance_logs. An attacker can forge arbitrary IN/OUT and Present/Late records for any student; the unauthenticated response also leaks student names, enabling enumeration of valid student codes. No authentication mechanism exists, making this remotely exploitable with network access only.

## Affected products

- SourceCodester Smart Attendance System with QR Code Scanner 1.0

## Timeline

- 2026-11-10: disclosed: CVE-2026-125076 published; public exploit available

## References

- [https://github.com/yuechuya/sourcecodester-vuln-reports/blob/main/reports/VULN-03-Unauthenticated-Attendance-Write.md](https://github.com/yuechuya/sourcecodester-vuln-reports/blob/main/reports/VULN-03-Unauthenticated-Attendance-Write.md)
- [https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2026-125076](https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2026-125076)

## Related threats

- [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System reflected XSS in reset_password.php](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-127282-a-vulnerability-was-determined-in-sourcecodester-smart)
- [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System session fixation in login.php](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125078-a-security-flaw-has-been-discovered-in-sourcecodester-smart)
- [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System cross-site request forgery in student deletion](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125077-a-vulnerability-was-determined-in-sourcecodester-smart)
- [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System auth bypass in admin account creation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125075-a-vulnerability-has-been-found-in-sourcecodester-smart)
- [SourceCodester Smart Attendance System missing authentication in password reset](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125074-a-flaw-has-been-found-in-sourcecodester-smart-attendance-system)