CVE-2025-11404: Hotel Management System SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-11404 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Hotel and Lodge Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /pages/save_tax.php file, where the percentage parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This allows authenticated attackers to manipulate the parameter to inject malicious SQL statements, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and may be utilized by threat actors.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the backend database, potentially compromising sensitive guest information, financial records, and administrative credentials stored within the hotel management system.

Affected Products

• Nikhil-bhalerao Hotel and Lodge Management System version 1.0
• SourceCodester Hotel and Lodge Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-10-07 - CVE-2025-11404 published to NVD
• 2025-10-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-11404

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The flaw resides in the save_tax.php file within the pages directory, specifically affecting how the application handles the percentage parameter.

When processing tax-related operations, the application fails to properly validate and sanitize user-supplied input in the percentage parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This lack of input validation allows attackers with low-level privileges to craft malicious input that alters the intended SQL query structure, enabling them to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data, or manipulate database contents.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the absence of parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the save_tax.php file. The application directly concatenates user-supplied input from the percentage parameter into SQL queries without proper sanitization or escaping. This classic SQL injection pattern occurs when developers trust user input and fail to implement secure coding practices such as input validation, output encoding, or using parameterized database queries.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network by any authenticated user with access to the tax management functionality. An attacker can manipulate the percentage parameter in requests to /pages/save_tax.php by injecting SQL syntax that modifies the query's behavior.

The vulnerability can be exploited through standard SQL injection techniques such as UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, Boolean-based blind injection to infer information through true/false responses, or time-based blind injection using database-specific delay functions. For detailed technical information regarding the exploitation methodology, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB entry #327341.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-11404

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages in application logs originating from /pages/save_tax.php
• Web server access logs showing requests to save_tax.php with suspicious characters in the percentage parameter (e.g., single quotes, UNION statements, OR conditions)
• Database query logs revealing malformed or unexpected SQL statements involving tax-related tables
• Unexpected database modifications or data exfiltration patterns

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests targeting the save_tax.php endpoint
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns including UNION-based, Boolean-based, and time-based techniques
• Enable detailed database query logging and monitor for anomalous query structures or unauthorized data access attempts
• Configure application-level logging to capture and alert on parameter manipulation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server logs for HTTP requests containing SQL metacharacters (', ", ;, --, /*, */) in the percentage parameter
• Set up alerts for database errors related to malformed SQL syntax originating from the hotel management application
• Review authentication and authorization logs for any signs of privilege escalation following exploitation attempts
• Implement real-time alerting for any direct database queries that bypass the application's expected query patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-11404

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove the Hotel and Lodge Management System from public-facing networks until patched or mitigated
• Implement input validation to restrict the percentage parameter to numeric values only
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Review database user permissions and apply the principle of least privilege to limit potential damage from successful exploitation

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on 2025-10-09, no official patch has been released by the vendor for this vulnerability. Organizations using this software should monitor SourceCodester for security updates and patches. In the absence of an official fix, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the /pages/save_tax.php endpoint to trusted internal networks only using firewall rules or access control lists
• Implement server-side input validation to ensure the percentage parameter accepts only numeric values within expected ranges
• Consider modifying the source code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database operations
• Add additional authentication requirements for accessing tax management functionality
• Deploy virtual patching through a WAF to block malicious payloads targeting this specific vulnerability

# Example .htaccess configuration to restrict access to vulnerable endpoint
<Files "save_tax.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Files>