CVE-2025-12857: Fabian Responsive Hotel Site SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-12857 Overview

CVE-2025-12857 is a SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Responsive Hotel Site 1.0. The flaw resides in the /admin/roombook.php script, where the rid parameter is concatenated into a database query without sanitization. Attackers with authenticated administrative access can manipulate the parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit has been disclosed publicly, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic abuse against exposed installations. The weakness is tracked under [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).

Critical Impact
Remote attackers with high privileges can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the hotel booking database, exposing reservation data and admin records.

Affected Products

Fabian Responsive Hotel Site 1.0
Component: /admin/roombook.php
Parameter: rid

Discovery Timeline

2025-11-07 - CVE-2025-12857 published to NVD
2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-12857

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the room booking administration script of Responsive Hotel Site 1.0. The roombook.php endpoint accepts the rid (room identifier) argument from the HTTP request and embeds it directly into a SQL query. Without parameterized queries or input validation, the database driver interprets attacker-supplied SQL syntax as part of the statement.

Successful injection allows enumeration of database schemas, extraction of stored guest data, and modification of records related to bookings, rooms, and administrative users. Because the affected file resides under /admin/, exploitation requires authenticated access with elevated privileges, which limits casual exploitation but does not prevent abuse by malicious insiders or attackers who obtain admin credentials through other means.

The attack is launched remotely over the network and requires no user interaction. Public disclosure on VulDB and GitHub provides sufficient detail for attackers to reproduce the exploitation steps. The EPSS probability remains low at the time of publication, consistent with the limited deployment footprint of this PHP application.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of user-supplied input before it is passed into a SQL statement. The application fails to use prepared statements or parameter binding for the rid value, allowing characters such as single quotes, semicolons, and SQL keywords to alter query structure.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker submits a crafted HTTP request to /admin/roombook.php with a malicious rid value. Typical payloads include UNION-based queries to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to enumerate values, and stacked queries where the database backend permits them. See the GitHub CVE Report for the disclosed proof-of-concept.

The vulnerability is described in prose only because no verified exploitation code is provided in the source advisories beyond the public report referenced above.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12857

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to /admin/roombook.php containing SQL meta-characters such as ', --, UNION, or SLEEP( in the rid parameter
Web server logs showing unusually long or encoded rid values from administrative sessions
Database error messages referencing syntax errors originating from the roombook.php script

Detection Strategies

Deploy a web application firewall rule that inspects the rid parameter for SQL keywords and metacharacters
Enable verbose query logging on the backend database and correlate anomalous queries with web access logs
Review admin authentication logs for sessions that subsequently issue many roombook.php requests in rapid succession

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward web server and database logs to a centralized analytics platform for correlation
Alert on HTTP 500 responses from /admin/roombook.php, which often indicate injection probing
Track administrative account activity for behavior deviating from baseline patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12857

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the /admin/ directory using IP allow-listing or VPN-only access
Rotate administrative credentials and enforce strong, unique passwords for all admin accounts
Audit recent activity on the roombook.php endpoint for signs of exploitation

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been published in the referenced advisories. Responsive Hotel Site is distributed through code-projects.org as a learning project, and downstream operators must apply source-level fixes themselves. Replace string concatenation in roombook.php with prepared statements using PDO or MySQLi parameter binding, and cast the rid value to an integer before use.

Workarounds

Modify roombook.php locally to validate that rid is strictly numeric before issuing any database query
Place the application behind a web application firewall with SQL injection signatures enabled
Limit database user privileges so the application account cannot read or modify tables beyond what is operationally required

bash

# Example input validation snippet to add before the query
# Ensures $rid is an integer; rejects anything else
if (!ctype_digit($_REQUEST['rid'])) {
    http_response_code(400);
    exit('Invalid room id');
}
$rid = (int) $_REQUEST['rid'];