CVE-2024-13025 Overview
CVE-2024-13025 is a SQL injection vulnerability in Codezips College Management System 1.0. The flaw exists in the /Front-end/faculty.php script, where the book_name and book_author parameters are passed to the backend database without proper sanitization. Remote attackers can manipulate these parameters to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic attacks against exposed installations. The vulnerability is tracked as [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).
Critical Impact
Remote attackers with low privileges can inject SQL commands through faculty book search parameters, exposing database contents and enabling unauthorized data modification.
Affected Products
- Codezips College Management System 1.0
- Component: /Front-end/faculty.php
- Vulnerable parameters: book_name, book_author
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-12-29 - CVE-2024-13025 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-13025
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the faculty book search functionality of Codezips College Management System 1.0. User-supplied input from the book_name and book_author request parameters flows directly into a SQL query executed by /Front-end/faculty.php. The application does not apply parameterized queries or input escaping, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query context.
Exploitation requires network access to the web application and low-level authentication. Successful injection can disclose stored records, modify database entries, or, depending on database privileges, execute administrative SQL operations. Because the proof-of-concept is public, exploitation attempts require minimal skill.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements in a SQL statement. The application concatenates raw HTTP request values into a SQL query string, allowing metacharacters such as single quotes, comments, and UNION clauses to alter query logic. No prepared statements or allowlist validation are used to constrain the input.
Attack Vector
An authenticated attacker submits a crafted request to /Front-end/faculty.php containing SQL metacharacters in the book_name or book_author parameters. The injected payload is interpreted by the MySQL backend, altering query behavior. Attackers can leverage UNION-based, error-based, or boolean-based techniques to extract data from arbitrary tables in the application database.
A technical proof-of-concept demonstrating the injection is available in the GitHub PoC repository and referenced in VulDB #289716.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-13025
Indicators of Compromise
- HTTP requests to /Front-end/faculty.php containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION, SELECT, or SLEEP in book_name or book_author parameters.
- Unexpected database errors in web server or application logs referencing the faculty page.
- Anomalous response sizes or latency variations from /Front-end/faculty.php indicating boolean or time-based injection.
Detection Strategies
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect query and POST parameters for SQL injection patterns targeting the faculty endpoint.
- Enable MySQL general or slow query logging and review queries originating from the faculty book search feature for unusual UNION or nested SELECT constructs.
- Correlate web access logs with database query logs to identify parameter manipulation events.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Alert on repeated 500-series HTTP responses from /Front-end/faculty.php, which often accompany failed injection probes.
- Monitor authentication logs for low-privileged accounts issuing high volumes of requests to search endpoints.
- Track outbound data volumes from the database server to detect bulk exfiltration following successful injection.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-13025
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict network access to the College Management System to trusted users and internal networks until a fix is applied.
- Deploy WAF signatures blocking SQL injection patterns on the book_name and book_author parameters.
- Rotate database credentials and audit accounts used by the application for excessive privileges.
- Review web and database logs for prior exploitation activity referencing /Front-end/faculty.php.
Patch Information
No vendor advisory or official patch has been published by Codezips at the time of NVD publication. Administrators should track the VulDB entry #289716 for future vendor guidance. In the absence of a patch, apply source-level remediation by refactoring the affected query in /Front-end/faculty.php to use parameterized statements via mysqli_prepare() or PDO with bound parameters.
Workarounds
- Modify /Front-end/faculty.php to use prepared statements with bound parameters for the book_name and book_author inputs.
- Apply strict server-side input validation, allowing only alphanumeric characters and spaces in book search parameters.
- Enforce least-privilege on the MySQL account used by the application, removing FILE, CREATE, and administrative privileges.
- Consider taking the application offline if it processes sensitive student or faculty records until a validated fix is deployed.
# Example: convert vulnerable query to a prepared statement (PHP/mysqli)
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM books WHERE book_name = ? AND book_author = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $_POST['book_name'], $_POST['book_author']);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
