The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) confirmed it has monitored and contained critical security flaws in its OnMark online grading portal after a teenage cybersecurity researcher flagged the issues earlier this year [1, 2]. The OnMark platform, introduced in 2026, allows teachers to digitally grade scanned physical answer sheets [1, 2].
The portal came under scrutiny after students complained that their digital answer sheets did not match the physical copies, sparking public outrage on social media [2]. India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also publicly addressed the concerns following the controversy [2].
Approximately 1.8 million students sat for the 2026 national school-leaving exam, a key gateway to higher education opportunities, with results announced on May 13 [2].
Teen researcher Nisarga Adhikary disclosed five critical vulnerabilities in the OnMark portal to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) on February 25, 2026. The flaws could have allowed a full takeover of examiner accounts, leading to tampering or disruption of grading [2]. After disclosure, cybersecurity experts from government agencies and leading engineering colleges were deployed to secure the system and migrate it to a more secure setup [2].
CBSE publicly acknowledged on May 31 that the vulnerabilities had been contained and said it is still ruling out other exploitable weaknesses. "The identified vulnerabilities have been contained, and other exploitable weaknesses are being ruled out," the board said [1, 2].
The incident followed related controversies in India’s education sector earlier in May, when a national medical exam was annulled after a security probe [2]. The OnMark case has intensified questions over the security of India’s digital exam-marking infrastructure, pushing government efforts to strengthen protections [2].
Nisarga Adhikary also published a blog post on May 22 detailing how the flaws could have enabled full examiner account takeovers [2]. CBSE continues its work to secure the grading system ahead of upcoming exam cycles.
The board’s actions to contain the vulnerabilities mark a key step in safeguarding the integrity of Indian national exams administered through digital platforms [1, 2].
