CVE-2025-1869: Mayurik Best Online News Portal SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-1869 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in the 101news application (also known as Mayurik Best Online News Portal) affecting version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the username parameter within the admin/check_avalability.php endpoint, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the underlying database.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability enables attackers to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially achieve full system compromise through database-level command execution.

Affected Products

• Mayurik Best Online News Portal version 1.0
• 101news version 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-03 - CVE-2025-1869 published to NVD
• 2025-03-07 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1869

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability exists in the administrative availability checking functionality of 101news. The check_avalability.php script, located in the admin directory, fails to properly sanitize or parameterize the username input parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This classic CWE-89 (SQL Injection) weakness allows malicious actors to manipulate database queries by injecting SQL syntax through the username field.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it resides in an administrative endpoint that likely handles user authentication or registration validation. Attackers can leverage this flaw to enumerate existing usernames, extract database contents including password hashes and other sensitive information, or potentially escalate to remote code execution if the database supports file writing or command execution features.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the use of unsanitized user input directly in SQL query construction. The check_avalability.php script does not employ parameterized queries (prepared statements) or adequate input filtering, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject malicious SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests targeting the admin/check_avalability.php endpoint with specially crafted SQL syntax in the username parameter. Since the endpoint appears to be designed for checking username availability during registration or administrative functions, it may be accessible without authentication, significantly increasing the attack surface.

The exploitation can be performed using standard SQL injection techniques, including UNION-based injection for data extraction, boolean-based blind injection for inferring database contents, or time-based blind injection when direct output is not available. Tools such as SQLMap can automate the exploitation process once the injection point is identified.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1869

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to admin/check_avalability.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, UNION keywords, or OR statements
• Database error messages appearing in web server logs referencing SQL syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries or high database load from the web application
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database access in audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP parameters
• Monitor web server access logs for requests to check_avalability.php with suspicious parameter values
• Enable database query logging and alert on anomalous query patterns or syntax errors
• Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions to detect SQL injection attempts in real-time

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerts for multiple failed authentication attempts combined with SQL-like syntax in usernames
• Establish baseline database query patterns and alert on deviations
• Monitor for unauthorized data access or bulk data retrieval from the database
• Review web application logs regularly for evidence of reconnaissance or exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1869

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove or restrict access to the admin/check_avalability.php endpoint until a patch is available
• Implement input validation to reject usernames containing SQL special characters
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection detection rules
• Audit database access logs for evidence of prior exploitation

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been identified in the available CVE data. Organizations using 101news or Mayurik Best Online News Portal should consult the INCIBE Security Notice for the latest remediation guidance and monitor for vendor updates.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to the administrative directory using IP-based access controls or authentication
• Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries in the affected PHP script if source code modification is possible
• Use a web application firewall to block requests containing SQL injection patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoint
• Consider disabling or removing the vulnerable script if username availability checking is not a critical feature

# Example: Apache .htaccess configuration to restrict access to admin directory
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    # Only allow access from trusted internal network
</Directory>