CVE-2025-13586 Overview
CVE-2025-13586 is a SQL injection vulnerability in SourceCodester Online Student Clearance System 1.0. The flaw resides in /Admin/changepassword.php and stems from improper handling of the txtconfirm_password parameter. An authenticated remote attacker with administrative privileges can manipulate this parameter to inject arbitrary SQL into backend database queries. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic attempts against exposed deployments. The vulnerability is categorized under [CWE-89] (SQL Injection) and [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements).
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can inject arbitrary SQL through the password change form, potentially modifying credentials, exposing student records, or corrupting database integrity.
Affected Products
- SourceCodester Online Student Clearance System 1.0
- Vendor: senior-walter
- CPE: cpe:2.3:a:senior-walter:online_student_clearance_system:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-11-24 - CVE-2025-13586 published to NVD
- 2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-13586
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability exists in the administrative password change workflow of the Online Student Clearance System. The /Admin/changepassword.php script accepts the txtconfirm_password parameter from user input and incorporates it into a SQL statement without proper sanitization or parameterization. This allows an attacker to break out of the intended query context and append arbitrary SQL clauses.
The attack requires high privileges, meaning the attacker must already hold an administrative session. However, weak admin credentials, credential reuse, or chained authentication flaws can lower this barrier in practice. Successful exploitation can yield low-level confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the underlying database.
Root Cause
The root cause is the direct concatenation of unsanitized user input into a SQL query within changepassword.php. The application does not use prepared statements or parameterized queries, and it fails to validate or escape the txtconfirm_password value before passing it to the database driver.
Attack Vector
The attack is initiated over the network against an exposed instance of the application. An authenticated administrator submits a crafted payload in the txtconfirm_password field of the password change form. The injected SQL is then executed in the context of the database service account. Refer to the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB #333350 for technical disclosure details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13586
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected POST requests to /Admin/changepassword.php containing SQL syntax such as ', --, UNION, SELECT, or OR 1=1 in the txtconfirm_password field.
- Database error messages or anomalous query latencies originating from the password change endpoint.
- Unauthorized modifications to administrator credentials or student clearance records.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to /Admin/changepassword.php containing URL-encoded SQL metacharacters.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) signature for SQL injection patterns targeting form fields containing password substrings.
- Correlate authentication events with database query anomalies to identify post-login SQL injection attempts.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose database query logging and alert on syntactically malformed queries originating from the application service account.
- Monitor for sudden spikes in failed or successful password change operations from a single administrative session.
- Track outbound connections from the database host that could indicate data exfiltration following injection.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13586
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict access to /Admin/ paths using network ACLs or IP allowlisting until a fix is applied.
- Rotate all administrative credentials and audit recent password changes within the application.
- Review database logs for evidence of unauthorized queries executed through the password change endpoint.
Patch Information
No official vendor patch has been published at the time of disclosure. SourceCodester projects are community-distributed and frequently lack coordinated security maintenance. Operators should consider migrating to a maintained alternative or applying source-level fixes by replacing dynamic SQL with parameterized queries in changepassword.php.
Workarounds
- Modify changepassword.php to use prepared statements with bound parameters (PDO::prepare or mysqli_prepare) instead of string concatenation.
- Enforce strict server-side input validation that rejects SQL metacharacters in the txtconfirm_password field.
- Deploy a WAF rule blocking common SQL injection signatures on administrative endpoints.
- Limit database account privileges so the application user cannot execute DDL or access unrelated schemas.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
