CVE-2025-12614: Best House Rental Management SQL Injection

CVE-2025-12614 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Best House Rental Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the delete_payment function within the /admin_class.php file, where improper sanitization of the ID argument allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. This flaw can be exploited remotely, potentially compromising the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers with administrative privileges can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to manipulate database queries, potentially accessing, modifying, or deleting sensitive rental management data including tenant information and payment records.

Affected Products

• Mayurik Best House Rental Management System 1.0
• SourceCodester Best House Rental Management System installations using /admin_class.php

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-11-03 - CVE-2025-12614 published to NVD
• 2025-11-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-12614

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied input in the delete_payment function. The application fails to properly sanitize or parameterize the ID argument before incorporating it into SQL queries. When an authenticated administrator interacts with the payment deletion functionality, the unsanitized input is directly concatenated into the SQL statement, allowing injection of arbitrary SQL commands.

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 attack requires network access and elevated (administrative) privileges, which limits the attack surface but still presents significant risk in multi-tenant environments or where admin credentials may be compromised.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of proper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the delete_payment function within /admin_class.php. The application directly incorporates user-controlled data into SQL queries without appropriate sanitization, creating an injection point that attackers can exploit to manipulate database operations.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring an attacker to have authenticated access with administrative privileges. The exploitation process involves:

1. An attacker with admin credentials accesses the payment management interface
2. The attacker intercepts or crafts a request to the delete_payment function
3. Malicious SQL code is injected through the ID parameter
4. The backend executes the manipulated query against the database
5. The attacker can extract data, modify records, or potentially escalate their access

The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed, and technical details are available in the GitHub Project Report. The attack exploits the trust placed in the ID parameter, which is expected to contain only numeric values but accepts arbitrary input including SQL metacharacters.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12614

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /admin_class.php containing SQL keywords (UNION, SELECT, DROP, etc.) in the ID parameter
• Database error messages in application logs indicating SQL syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries or modifications in audit logs
• Multiple rapid requests to the delete_payment function from the same source

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in request parameters targeting /admin_class.php
• Monitor application logs for error messages containing SQL-related exceptions
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all administrative actions within the house rental management system
• Configure alerts for failed database queries that may indicate injection attempts
• Monitor for unusual data exfiltration patterns from the database
• Track authentication events and correlate with subsequent administrative actions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12614

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the administrative interface to trusted IP addresses only
• Implement additional authentication controls for the admin panel
• Review and audit administrative user accounts for unauthorized access
• Consider temporarily disabling the delete_payment functionality until a fix is applied
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations using SourceCodester Best House Rental Management System should monitor the SourceCodester Resource Hub for security updates. Additional technical details and tracking information are available at VulDB #330908.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to ensure the ID parameter only accepts numeric values
• Modify the delete_payment function to use parameterized queries (prepared statements) instead of direct string concatenation
• Apply PHP's intval() or similar type casting to the ID parameter before use in queries
• Implement a Web Application Firewall to filter malicious requests at the network perimeter
• Restrict administrative access to the application through network segmentation or VPN-only access

# Recommended fix: Use prepared statements
# Replace direct query execution with parameterized queries
# Example using PDO:
# $stmt = $pdo->prepare("DELETE FROM payments WHERE id = ?");
# $stmt->execute([intval($id)]);