CVE-2025-11053: Phpgurukul Small CRM SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-11053 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Small CRM version 4.0. This vulnerability affects the /forgot-password.php file, where manipulation of the email argument can lead to SQL injection attacks. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely by unauthenticated attackers, and exploit details have been made publicly available.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability remotely to potentially access, modify, or delete sensitive database contents including customer records and user credentials.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Small CRM 4.0

Discovery Timeline

• September 27, 2025 - CVE-2025-11053 published to NVD
• October 3, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-11053

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability exists in the password recovery functionality of PHPGurukul Small CRM 4.0. The /forgot-password.php endpoint fails to properly sanitize the email parameter before incorporating it into database queries. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements through the email input field, bypassing normal application logic to interact directly with the underlying database.

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). These weaknesses indicate that user-supplied input is not adequately filtered or escaped before being used in SQL queries.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries or prepared statements in the forgot-password.php file. When processing the password reset request, the application directly concatenates the user-supplied email parameter into the SQL query string without proper sanitization, escaping, or the use of prepared statements. This coding practice violates secure development principles and creates an injection point for malicious SQL code.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /forgot-password.php endpoint with specially crafted SQL injection payloads in the email parameter.

The vulnerability allows attackers to:

• Extract sensitive data from the database including user credentials, customer information, and CRM data
• Bypass authentication mechanisms by manipulating query logic
• Modify or delete database records
• Potentially escalate privileges if database user has elevated permissions
• In some configurations, achieve remote code execution through database-specific features

The exploitation mechanism involves sending crafted payloads in the email field that terminate the legitimate query and inject attacker-controlled SQL statements. For detailed technical information, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-11053

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP POST requests to /forgot-password.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, UNION keywords, or semicolons in the email parameter
• Database error messages in application logs related to malformed queries originating from the password reset functionality
• Abnormal database queries in SQL logs showing UNION SELECT statements, comment sequences, or time-based injection patterns
• Unexpected data exfiltration or database access patterns from the web application user account

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to inspect and block requests containing SQL injection patterns in the email parameter
• Implement application-level logging for all password reset attempts, flagging requests with suspicious characters or patterns
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous queries originating from the CRM application, particularly those with unusual syntax or accessing sensitive tables
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on HTTP requests containing common SQL injection payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the web application server for all requests to /forgot-password.php
• Set up real-time alerts for database errors or exceptions generated by the CRM application
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect data exfiltration patterns from the database server
• Conduct regular log reviews focusing on authentication-related endpoints and unusual query patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-11053

Immediate Actions Required

• Disable or restrict access to the /forgot-password.php functionality until a patch is applied
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection prevention rules in front of the CRM application
• Review database logs for any evidence of exploitation and assess potential data compromise
• Rotate all database credentials and reset user passwords if exploitation is suspected
• Consider taking the CRM application offline if it contains sensitive data and cannot be adequately protected

Patch Information

As of the last CVE update on October 3, 2025, no official vendor patch has been referenced in the NVD data. Organizations should monitor the PHP Gurukul Security Resource for official updates and security advisories. Additional vulnerability details are available via VulDB #326093.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application level using a PHP-based input filter that rejects email values containing SQL metacharacters
• Deploy a reverse proxy with ModSecurity or similar WAF capabilities configured with OWASP Core Rule Set to block SQL injection attempts
• Restrict network access to the CRM application to trusted IP ranges only using firewall rules
• If source code access is available, modify the forgot-password.php file to use PDO prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection in email parameter
SecRule ARGS:email "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in email parameter',\
    tag:'CVE-2025-11053'"