CVE-2025-13289: Student Database Management System SQLi

CVE-2025-13289 Overview

CVE-2025-13289 is a SQL injection vulnerability in 1000projects Design & Development of Student Database Management System version 1.0. The flaw resides in the /TeacherLogin/Academics/SubjectDetails.php script, where the SubCode parameter is passed to a database query without proper sanitization. Remote attackers with low-privileged teacher credentials can manipulate the parameter to execute arbitrary SQL statements. The exploit details are publicly available, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attacks against exposed instances. The vulnerability is tracked under [CWE-89] SQL Injection and [CWE-74] Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output.

Critical Impact
Authenticated remote attackers can inject SQL commands through the SubCode parameter, exposing student records and potentially compromising database integrity.

Affected Products

1000projects Design & Development of Student Database Management System 1.0
Component: /TeacherLogin/Academics/SubjectDetails.php
Vulnerable parameter: SubCode

Discovery Timeline

2025-11-17 - CVE-2025-13289 published to NVD
2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13289

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists within the teacher-facing academics module of the Student Database Management System. The SubjectDetails.php endpoint accepts the SubCode HTTP parameter and concatenates the value directly into a SQL query string. Because the application does not apply prepared statements or input validation, attackers can break out of the intended query context and append arbitrary SQL clauses.

Exploitation requires an authenticated session as a teacher account, which represents a low privilege level within the application. Once authenticated, the attacker submits crafted values to the SubCode parameter via standard HTTP requests. The public availability of exploit details lowers the barrier for opportunistic attackers targeting exposed deployments.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special characters in the SubCode query parameter before it is incorporated into a SQL statement. The PHP code path does not use parameterized queries or escape user input, allowing attacker-controlled data to alter the structure of executed SQL. This pattern reflects classic [CWE-89] flaws common in legacy PHP applications.

Attack Vector

The attack is performed over the network against the web application. An authenticated attacker sends an HTTP request to /TeacherLogin/Academics/SubjectDetails.php with a malicious SubCode value. Successful injection enables data exfiltration from the student database, modification of stored records, or enumeration of the underlying database schema. See the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB entry #332629 for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13289

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to /TeacherLogin/Academics/SubjectDetails.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION, SELECT, --, or OR 1=1 in the SubCode parameter.
Unusual database error messages returned in HTTP responses originating from SubjectDetails.php.
Outbound database queries returning unexpectedly large result sets correlated with teacher-account sessions.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) signatures that flag SQL injection patterns targeting the SubCode parameter.
Enable verbose query logging on the backend database and alert on syntactically malformed or unusually structured queries originating from the application user.
Review web server access logs for repeated authenticated requests to SubjectDetails.php from a single source within short time windows.

Monitoring Recommendations

Correlate teacher-account authentication events with subsequent access to academic endpoints to identify abuse of low-privileged credentials.
Monitor for schema enumeration patterns such as queries referencing information_schema tables.
Track failed login attempts followed by successful authentication and immediate access to vulnerable endpoints.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13289

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network exposure of the Student Database Management System to trusted internal networks or VPN-only access until a fix is applied.
Audit and rotate teacher account credentials to remove unused or weak accounts that could be leveraged for authenticated exploitation.
Deploy WAF rules that block SQL injection payloads targeting the SubCode parameter on /TeacherLogin/Academics/SubjectDetails.php.

Patch Information

No vendor patch or advisory has been published for CVE-2025-13289 at the time of writing. Administrators should consult the VulDB submission #691612 and the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion for the latest status. Until a vendor fix is released, organizations should apply source-level remediation by replacing string concatenation with parameterized queries using PDO or MySQLi prepared statements.

Workarounds

Modify SubjectDetails.php to use parameterized queries and bind the SubCode value as a typed parameter instead of concatenating it into SQL.
Add server-side input validation that restricts SubCode to an expected character set such as alphanumerics.
Apply the principle of least privilege to the database account used by the application, removing write or schema-modification rights where not required.

bash

# Example PHP remediation using PDO prepared statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM subjects WHERE SubCode = :subcode');
$stmt->bindParam(':subcode', $_POST['SubCode'], PDO::PARAM_STR);
$stmt->execute();