CVE-2025-11516: Online Complaint Site SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-11516 Overview

CVE-2025-11516 is a SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Online Complaint Site 1.0. The flaw resides in the /cms/users/complaint-details.php script, where the cid parameter is passed to a backend database query without proper sanitization. Remote attackers can manipulate the cid argument to inject arbitrary SQL statements against the underlying database.

The issue is tracked under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization in a Downstream Component). Public exploit details have been disclosed through VulDB entry #327641 and the GitHub CVE Issue Tracker.

Critical Impact
Authenticated remote attackers can inject SQL through the cid parameter to read, modify, or delete data in the application database.

Affected Products

code-projects Online Complaint Site 1.0
cpe:2.3:a:fabian:online_complaint_site:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendor: Fabian / code-projects

Discovery Timeline

2025-10-09 - CVE-2025-11516 published to NVD
2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-11516

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability affects the complaint details view in the code-projects Online Complaint Site application. The script /cms/users/complaint-details.php accepts a cid request parameter that identifies a complaint record. The value is concatenated directly into a SQL query without parameterization or input validation.

An attacker with low-privilege access to the application can supply crafted SQL fragments through cid to alter the query logic. This allows extraction of arbitrary database rows, including credentials and complainant data stored by the content management system. The flaw is exploitable over the network and requires no user interaction.

With an EPSS score of 0.04% (12.5 percentile), in-the-wild exploitation probability is currently low. However, the exploit technique is well understood and public proof-of-concept information is available.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing input neutralization in the database access path that handles the cid parameter. The application treats user-supplied input as trusted SQL syntax instead of a bound parameter. This pattern matches [CWE-89] and reflects the absence of prepared statements or escaping routines in the affected PHP code.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over HTTP against an internet-reachable instance of the application. The attacker authenticates as a low-privilege user, then issues a GET or POST request to /cms/users/complaint-details.php with a tampered cid value. Boolean-based, error-based, and UNION-based SQL injection techniques are all viable depending on the database driver configuration.

Refer to the VulDB #327641 Detail entry and the GitHub CVE Issue Tracker for additional technical context on the parameter manipulation pattern.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-11516

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to /cms/users/complaint-details.php containing SQL meta-characters such as ', --, UNION, SELECT, or SLEEP( in the cid parameter
Web server access logs showing abnormally long or URL-encoded cid values from a single source
Database error messages referencing the complaint table appearing in application logs
Unexpected outbound traffic from the web server following requests to the vulnerable endpoint

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall rules that inspect the cid parameter for SQL injection signatures on the complaint-details endpoint
Enable database query logging and alert on queries selecting from information_schema or system tables originating from the web application user
Correlate authentication events with subsequent abnormal request volumes against /cms/users/complaint-details.php

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward web server, PHP error, and database logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation
Baseline normal request patterns for the complaint module and alert on deviations in parameter length or character composition
Monitor for new low-privilege user accounts that subsequently issue high volumes of complaint-detail requests

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-11516

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the Online Complaint Site application to trusted users until a vendor fix is available
Place the application behind a web application firewall with SQL injection signatures enabled
Audit existing complaint and user tables for signs of unauthorized read or modification
Rotate any database credentials or session secrets that may have been exposed through the vulnerable parameter

Patch Information

No official vendor patch is referenced in the published advisory data for CVE-2025-11516. Operators should monitor the code-projects resource hub for vendor updates. In the interim, apply source-level fixes by replacing dynamic SQL concatenation in /cms/users/complaint-details.php with prepared statements using PDO or MySQLi parameter binding.

Workarounds

Modify complaint-details.php to cast the cid value to an integer before use, for example $cid = (int)$_GET['cid'];
Implement an allow-list validation that rejects any cid value that is not strictly numeric
Disable or remove the complaint-details endpoint if it is not required by business operations
Restrict the database account used by the application to read-only privileges on the minimum required tables

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection attempts on the cid parameter
SecRule ARGS:cid "@rx (?i)(union|select|sleep\(|--|';|/\*)" \
    "id:1011516,phase:2,deny,status:403,\
    msg:'CVE-2025-11516 SQLi attempt against complaint-details.php',\
    tag:'application-multi',tag:'attack-sqli'"