CVE-2025-11658: School Management System RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-11658 Overview

A critical unrestricted file upload vulnerability has been identified in the Oranbyte School Management System. The vulnerability exists in the /assets/changeSllyabus.php file, where improper validation of the File argument allows attackers to upload arbitrary files to the server. This flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially enabling attackers to upload malicious scripts or web shells that could lead to remote code execution on the affected system.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this unrestricted file upload vulnerability to upload malicious files, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the server and compromising sensitive student and administrative data.

Affected Products

• Oranbyte School Management System (up to commit 6b6fae5426044f89c08d0dd101c7fa71f9042a59)
• Oranbyte School Management System version 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• October 13, 2025 - CVE-2025-11658 published to NVD
• October 16, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-11658

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type) and CWE-284 (Improper Access Control). The affected component is the syllabus change functionality located at /assets/changeSllyabus.php, which processes file uploads without proper validation or restrictions.

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to upload files of any type to the server through network-based attacks. The lack of file type validation means an attacker could upload executable scripts (such as PHP web shells), which when accessed would execute with the privileges of the web server. This represents a significant security risk as it combines both the unrestricted file upload weakness with missing access control protections.

The product operates on a rolling release model with continuous delivery, which means there are no discrete version numbers to track affected or patched releases. Organizations using this software should verify their deployment against the known vulnerable commit hash.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper file validation mechanisms in the changeSllyabus.php script. The application fails to:

1. Validate file extensions against an allowlist of permitted types
2. Check MIME types to verify actual file content
3. Implement proper access control to restrict who can upload files
4. Sanitize uploaded file names to prevent directory traversal

This combination of missing security controls allows attackers to bypass any intended restrictions and upload arbitrary content to the server.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. An attacker would craft a malicious HTTP POST request to the /assets/changeSllyabus.php endpoint, including a file payload in the File parameter. The vulnerable script processes the upload without validation, saving the file to a web-accessible location.

A typical exploitation scenario involves uploading a PHP web shell disguised with a legitimate-looking filename, then accessing the uploaded file directly through the browser to execute arbitrary commands on the server. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and may be used by threat actors. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the GitHub Issue Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-11658

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected files appearing in the /assets/ directory or upload directories, particularly PHP, JSP, or ASP files
• Web server logs showing POST requests to /assets/changeSllyabus.php from external or suspicious IP addresses
• Newly created files with suspicious names or extensions in web-accessible directories
• Outbound network connections originating from the web server process

Detection Strategies

• Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on the web application directories to detect unauthorized file additions
• Configure web application firewalls (WAF) to inspect file upload requests and block suspicious content types
• Monitor web server access logs for requests to /assets/changeSllyabus.php with unusual parameters or from untrusted sources
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to identify web shell behaviors such as command execution from PHP processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all file upload activities including source IP, filename, and file size
• Set up alerts for new executable file types (PHP, JSP, ASPX, etc.) being written to web directories
• Monitor process execution chains for web server processes spawning shell commands
• Review authentication logs for any access attempts following file uploads to the affected endpoint

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-11658

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to /assets/changeSllyabus.php by implementing authentication requirements or IP-based access controls
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule to block suspicious file uploads to the affected endpoint
• Review the upload directory for any existing malicious files and remove unauthorized content
• Consider temporarily disabling the syllabus upload functionality until a patch is available

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on October 16, 2025, no official patch has been released by the vendor. The Oranbyte School Management System operates on a rolling release model, so users should monitor the official repository for updates addressing this vulnerability. Organizations are advised to implement workarounds until a fix is available.

Workarounds

• Configure the web server to deny execution of scripts in the upload directory (e.g., disable PHP execution in that directory)
• Implement server-side file validation that checks both file extensions and MIME types against a strict allowlist
• Rename uploaded files to remove executable extensions and store them outside the web root
• Add authentication and authorization checks to the changeSllyabus.php endpoint to restrict access to authorized administrators only

# Configuration example for Apache to prevent script execution in upload directories
# Add to .htaccess in the /assets/ directory or Apache configuration

<Directory "/var/www/html/assets/uploads">
    # Disable script execution
    php_admin_flag engine off
    
    # Deny access to potentially dangerous file types
    <FilesMatch "\.(php|phtml|php3|php4|php5|pl|cgi|py|sh|asp|aspx|jsp)$">
        Require all denied
    </FilesMatch>
    
    # Only allow specific safe file types
    <FilesMatch "\.(pdf|doc|docx|xls|xlsx|ppt|pptx)$">
        Require all granted
    </FilesMatch>
</Directory>