CVE-2025-3694: Pharmacy Product Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-3694 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in SourceCodester Web-based Pharmacy Product Management System version 1.0. This vulnerability exists within the Login Handler component, where improper handling of the login_email argument allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate database queries without authentication, potentially compromising the entire pharmacy management database containing sensitive medication and patient information.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can bypass authentication, extract sensitive pharmacy and patient data, or potentially gain unauthorized access to the underlying database through SQL injection in the login functionality.

Affected Products

• SourceCodester Web-based Pharmacy Product Management System 1.0
• Senior-walter Web-based Pharmacy Product Management System
• Systems using the vulnerable Login Handler component

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-16 - CVE-2025-3694 published to NVD
• 2025-05-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-3694

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the Login Handler component of the Web-based Pharmacy Product Management System. The application fails to properly sanitize or parameterize user input in the login_email field before incorporating it into SQL queries. This classic injection flaw allows attackers to manipulate the authentication query structure, potentially bypassing login controls or extracting database contents.

The network-accessible attack vector with no authentication requirements makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous for internet-facing pharmacy management deployments. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to prescription records, inventory data, and other sensitive healthcare-related information stored in the system.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-3694 is improper input validation and the use of unsanitized user input in SQL query construction. The login_email parameter is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper escaping, parameterization, or prepared statement usage. This CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) vulnerability allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely through the application's login interface. An attacker crafts a malicious payload in the login_email field that includes SQL metacharacters and commands. When the application processes this input, the injected SQL is executed against the backend database with the application's database privileges.

The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed with technical analysis available through the GitHub SQL Injection Analysis report. Attackers can leverage standard SQL injection techniques including UNION-based injection, boolean-based blind injection, or time-based blind injection depending on the database response behavior.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-3694

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages appearing in application logs or responses
• Authentication logs showing successful logins with malformed email addresses containing SQL syntax characters
• Database query logs containing unexpected UNION, SELECT, or comment syntax in email parameter values
• Abnormal database read patterns or bulk data extraction attempts

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in login requests
• Monitor authentication endpoints for requests containing SQL metacharacters (', ", ;, --, /*)
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns from the application
• Enable detailed logging on the Login Handler component to capture suspicious input attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerts for failed login attempts containing special characters or extended-length email inputs
• Monitor database performance metrics for unusual query execution times that may indicate time-based blind injection
• Review access logs for patterns of repeated login attempts from single IP addresses with varying payloads
• Implement real-time SQL injection detection through application security monitoring tools

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-3694

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the pharmacy management system to trusted IP addresses only
• Implement input validation on the login_email field to accept only properly formatted email addresses
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Review database user privileges and apply principle of least privilege to the application's database account

Patch Information

No vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability at the time of publication. The application is distributed through SourceCodester, and users should monitor the SourceCodester website for security updates. Additional technical details and vulnerability analysis are available through VulDB Report #304983.

Workarounds

• Implement parameterized queries or prepared statements in the Login Handler code to prevent SQL injection
• Add server-side input validation to reject email addresses containing SQL metacharacters
• Deploy network segmentation to isolate the pharmacy management system from direct internet access
• Consider disabling or restricting access to the affected login functionality until a proper fix is implemented

# Example WAF rule to block common SQL injection patterns in login requests
# ModSecurity rule example for Apache/Nginx
SecRule ARGS:login_email "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in login_email parameter',\
    log,\
    auditlog"