CVE-2025-14335: Student Management System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-14335 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in itsourcecode Student Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /new_school_year.php file, where the sy parameter is improperly validated before being used in database queries. This flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate SQL queries by injecting malicious input through the sy argument, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive student data, modify database records, or potentially gain unauthorized access to the system without authentication.

Affected Products

• itsourcecode Student Management System 1.0
• angeljudesuarez student_management_system 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• December 9, 2025 - CVE-2025-14335 published to NVD
• December 16, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-14335

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the Student Management System, a PHP-based web application designed for educational institutions. The vulnerable endpoint /new_school_year.php accepts user input through the sy parameter without proper sanitization or parameterized query implementation. When a user submits data to this endpoint, the application directly concatenates the input into SQL queries, creating an injection point that attackers can exploit.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, as the affected functionality appears to be accessible to unauthenticated users. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to read sensitive student records, modify grades or personal information, delete database content, or potentially execute operating system commands depending on the database configuration and privileges.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the absence of parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the application's database interaction layer. The sy parameter value is directly embedded into SQL statements without escaping special characters or using bound parameters, violating secure coding practices for database operations. This is a classic example of CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by sending crafted HTTP requests to the /new_school_year.php endpoint. An attacker would submit malicious SQL syntax within the sy parameter, which the application then executes against the database. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation. No user interaction is required for the attack, and authentication is not necessary to reach the vulnerable endpoint.

The vulnerability allows for various SQL injection techniques including UNION-based injection to extract data from other tables, blind SQL injection using time-based or boolean-based inference, and potentially stacked queries depending on the database driver configuration.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-14335

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages appearing in web server logs or application error logs
• Unexpected database queries containing UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or other SQL injection patterns in database query logs
• Anomalous access patterns to /new_school_year.php with suspicious parameter values
• Unauthorized modifications to student records or school year data
• Database query execution times significantly longer than normal (indicating time-based blind injection attempts)

Detection Strategies

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules to monitor and block malicious requests to the Student Management System
• Implement application-level logging for all database queries and monitor for SQL injection patterns such as single quotes, UNION statements, and comment sequences
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on traffic containing common SQL injection payloads targeting PHP applications
• Review web server access logs for repeated requests to /new_school_year.php with varying sy parameter values

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed query logging on the database server to capture all executed SQL statements for forensic analysis
• Implement real-time alerting for SQL syntax errors originating from the web application
• Monitor for data exfiltration attempts through unusual outbound network traffic from the database server
• Track user session anomalies and failed authentication attempts that may indicate post-exploitation activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-14335

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Student Management System to trusted IP ranges or disable public access until patched
• Implement a Web Application Firewall rule to block requests containing SQL injection patterns in the sy parameter
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and perform integrity checks on student records
• Back up the database before applying any patches or modifications
• Consider temporarily disabling the /new_school_year.php functionality if not critical to operations

Patch Information

As of the last update on December 16, 2025, no official patch has been released by the vendor. Organizations using this software should monitor the itsourcecode website for security updates. For additional technical details about this vulnerability, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB advisory #335160.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation on the sy parameter at the web server level using ModSecurity or similar WAF rules to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters
• Modify the application code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of string concatenation for database operations
• Apply the principle of least privilege to the database user account used by the application, restricting it to only necessary permissions
• Deploy network segmentation to isolate the database server from direct internet access

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection attempts on the vulnerable parameter
SecRule ARGS:sy "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in sy parameter',\
    tag:'CVE-2025-14335'"