CVE-2025-2387: Online Food Ordering System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-2387 Overview

A critical SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in SourceCodester Online Food Ordering System version 2.0. The vulnerability exists in an unknown function of the file /admin/ajax.php?action=add_to_cart, where improper handling of the pid argument allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. This vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive database information, data manipulation, or complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially achieve remote code execution on the underlying server.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester Online Food Ordering System 2.0
• oretnom23 online_food_ordering_system 2.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-17 - CVE-2025-2387 published to NVD
• 2025-05-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-2387

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability resides in the SourceCodester Online Food Ordering System, a PHP-based web application commonly used for managing restaurant orders. The vulnerable endpoint /admin/ajax.php?action=add_to_cart fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the pid parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and CWE-74 (Injection), indicating that the application constructs SQL queries using untrusted input without adequate validation or parameterization. This allows attackers to modify the intended query structure, potentially extracting data from other tables, bypassing authentication mechanisms, or executing administrative operations on the database.

The exploit for this vulnerability has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of exploitation in the wild. Organizations running this software should treat remediation as a high priority.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries or prepared statements in the add_to_cart functionality. The pid argument is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without proper escaping or sanitization, allowing malicious SQL syntax to be interpreted and executed by the database engine.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and can be executed remotely by any unauthenticated attacker with access to the application's admin panel endpoint. The attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request to /admin/ajax.php?action=add_to_cart with a specially crafted pid parameter containing SQL injection payloads.

The exploitation process involves manipulating the pid parameter to inject SQL commands. For example, an attacker could submit payloads that use UNION-based injection to extract data from other database tables, error-based injection to enumerate database structure, or time-based blind injection techniques when direct output is not available. Additional technical details can be found in the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB #299886 Details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-2387

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages in web application logs originating from /admin/ajax.php
• HTTP requests to /admin/ajax.php?action=add_to_cart containing suspicious characters in the pid parameter such as single quotes, UNION keywords, or SQL comments
• Database query logs showing unexpected SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database access in audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in HTTP parameters, particularly targeting the pid parameter
• Configure database activity monitoring to alert on anomalous queries or access patterns
• Enable detailed logging on the web server and database to capture all requests to the vulnerable endpoint
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor HTTP access logs for requests to /admin/ajax.php with abnormal parameter values
• Set up alerts for database errors related to malformed SQL syntax
• Regularly review database audit logs for unauthorized data access or privilege escalation attempts
• Implement file integrity monitoring on web application files to detect unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-2387

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /admin/ajax.php endpoint using IP whitelisting or network-level controls
• Disable or remove the vulnerable add_to_cart functionality until a patch is applied
• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the pid parameter
• Review database permissions and apply principle of least privilege to minimize potential impact

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available. Organizations should monitor SourceCodester Security Resources for updates. Given that this is a SourceCodester demonstration project, users should consider implementing custom patches or migrating to a more secure ordering system.

For the latest vulnerability details and community-reported fixes, refer to the VulDB CTI ID #299886 and VulDB Submission #516681.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation using prepared statements or parameterized queries in the affected ajax.php file to sanitize the pid parameter
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF in front of the application to filter malicious requests
• Restrict database user permissions to prevent destructive operations even if SQL injection is successful
• Consider taking the application offline or restricting access to trusted networks until proper remediation can be implemented

# Example Apache configuration to restrict access to admin endpoints
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>