CVE-2025-10082 Overview
A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Online Polling System version 1.0. The flaw exists in an unknown function within the file /admin/manage-admins.php, where improper handling of the email argument allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements. This vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive database information, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.
Critical Impact
Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially gain unauthorized administrative access to the polling system.
Affected Products
- Razormist Online Polling System 1.0
- SourceCodester Online Polling System 1.0
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-09-08 - CVE-2025-10082 published to NVD
- 2025-09-09 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-10082
Vulnerability Analysis
This SQL injection vulnerability affects the administrative interface of the Online Polling System, specifically the /admin/manage-admins.php endpoint. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization of the email parameter, which is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper parameterization or escaping. This allows attackers to craft malicious input that modifies the intended SQL query logic.
The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to properly sanitize and validate user-supplied input in the email parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. The application likely uses string concatenation to build SQL statements rather than employing prepared statements with parameterized queries. This programming practice directly exposes the database layer to injection attacks, as special SQL characters and commands within user input are interpreted as part of the query structure rather than as data.
Attack Vector
The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring authentication. An attacker can manipulate the email parameter in HTTP requests sent to /admin/manage-admins.php to inject arbitrary SQL commands. The injection point allows for various attack techniques including:
- Union-based SQL injection to extract data from other database tables
- Boolean-based blind SQL injection to infer database contents
- Time-based blind SQL injection using database-specific delay functions
- Stacked queries (if supported) to execute multiple SQL statements
The vulnerability allows attackers to potentially bypass authentication mechanisms, extract administrator credentials, access voter information, manipulate poll results, or achieve full database compromise depending on database permissions.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-10082
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual SQL error messages in application logs originating from /admin/manage-admins.php
- HTTP requests to /admin/manage-admins.php containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, DROP) in the email parameter
- Anomalous database queries with unexpected syntax patterns
- Failed login attempts followed by successful authentication without valid credentials
Detection Strategies
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in the email parameter targeting /admin/manage-admins.php
- Monitor database query logs for malformed or suspicious SQL statements containing injection patterns
- Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection attack payloads
- Enable verbose logging on the web server to capture all requests to administrative endpoints
Monitoring Recommendations
- Configure alerts for HTTP requests containing SQL metacharacters (single quotes, double dashes, semicolons) in form parameters
- Monitor for abnormal database response times that may indicate time-based blind SQL injection attempts
- Track failed authentication attempts and correlate with requests to the vulnerable endpoint
- Implement database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized data access or extraction
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-10082
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict access to /admin/manage-admins.php by IP whitelist or VPN until a patch is available
- Implement input validation on the email parameter to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
- Consider taking the Online Polling System offline if it processes sensitive data and cannot be adequately protected
Patch Information
No official patch has been released by the vendor at this time. Organizations using this software should monitor SourceCodester for security updates. Additional technical details and community discussion can be found in the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB entry #323037.
Workarounds
- Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries in the affected PHP code to prevent SQL injection
- Add server-side input validation to sanitize the email parameter before database operations
- Restrict database user permissions to limit the impact of successful exploitation
- Deploy a reverse proxy with ModSecurity or similar WAF capabilities to filter malicious requests
# Example Apache ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection attempts
SecRule ARGS:email "@detectSQLi" \
"id:1001,\
phase:2,\
block,\
msg:'SQL Injection Attempt Detected in email parameter',\
log,\
severity:'CRITICAL'"
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.

