CVE-2025-13546: Travel-agency SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13546 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in the ashraf-kabir travel-agency web application. The vulnerability exists in the /results.php file within the Search component, where improper handling of the user_query parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements. This flaw enables remote attackers with low privileges to manipulate database queries, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to access, modify, or delete sensitive data stored in the travel agency application database. The exploit is publicly available, increasing the risk of active exploitation.

Affected Products

• ashraf-kabir travel-agency (up to commit 1f25aa03544bc5fb7a9e846f8a7879cecdb0cad3)

Discovery Timeline

• November 23, 2025 - CVE-2025-13546 published to NVD
• December 4, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13546

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is a classic SQL Injection (CWE-89) with an underlying Injection flaw (CWE-74). The Search component in the travel-agency application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. When a user submits a search request through the application, the user_query parameter value is directly concatenated into database queries without adequate input validation or parameterized query usage.

The attack can be launched remotely over the network and requires only low-level privileges to exploit. While the vulnerability does not grant full system access, successful exploitation can lead to partial compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the database contents.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the /results.php file. The application directly incorporates user-controlled input from the user_query parameter into SQL statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and targets the Search functionality of the travel-agency application. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can craft malicious input containing SQL metacharacters and inject them through the user_query parameter. The injected SQL code is then executed by the database server with the privileges of the application's database user.

The vulnerability affects the /results.php endpoint where search queries are processed. By manipulating the user_query parameter with crafted SQL payloads, attackers can extract sensitive information, bypass authentication checks, or modify database records. The public availability of the exploit increases the likelihood of widespread exploitation attempts against vulnerable installations.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13546

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL syntax patterns in web server access logs targeting /results.php
• Database error messages appearing in application logs indicating malformed queries
• Unexpected database queries containing UNION, SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements from the Search component
• Anomalous data access patterns or bulk data extraction from the application database

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection attempts in the user_query parameter
• Monitor application logs for SQL error messages and suspicious query patterns
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized query execution
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with SQL injection signature rules

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the web server to capture full request parameters for /results.php
• Configure database query logging to identify anomalous SQL statements
• Set up alerts for repeated failed SQL queries or database connection errors
• Monitor for unusual data exfiltration patterns from the travel-agency database

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13546

Immediate Actions Required

• Review and restrict access to the travel-agency application until patches are applied
• Implement input validation on the user_query parameter to reject SQL metacharacters
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Audit database access logs for signs of previous exploitation attempts

Patch Information

This product does not use versioning, making it difficult to identify specific patched releases. Organizations should monitor the GitHub repository and VulDB entries for updates from the developer. Until an official patch is released, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

Workarounds

• Replace direct SQL concatenation with parameterized queries (prepared statements) in /results.php
• Implement strict input validation using allowlists for acceptable characters in search queries
• Apply the principle of least privilege to database user accounts used by the application
• Consider disabling the Search functionality temporarily if it is not business-critical

# Example: Apache ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection attempts
SecRule ARGS:user_query "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection Attempt Detected in user_query parameter',\
    tag:'application-multi',\
    tag:'language-multi',\
    tag:'platform-multi',\
    tag:'attack-sqli'"