CVE-2025-4108: Phpgurukul Student Record System SQLi

CVE-2025-4108 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20. The vulnerability exists in the /add-subject.php file, where the sub1 parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in database queries. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL commands, potentially compromising the entire database containing sensitive student records and administrative data.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection flaw to extract, modify, or delete sensitive student information, bypass authentication mechanisms, and potentially gain full control of the underlying database server.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20

Discovery Timeline

• April 30, 2025 - CVE-2025-4108 published to NVD
• May 13, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4108

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the subject management functionality within PHPGurukul Student Record System. The /add-subject.php endpoint accepts user-controlled input through the sub1 parameter without adequate validation or sanitization. When administrators use this functionality to add new subjects to the system, the input is directly concatenated into SQL queries executed against the backend database.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component), which encompasses injection flaws where untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. In this case, the injection point allows attackers to manipulate the structure and logic of SQL statements.

The flaw is exploitable remotely over the network with no authentication required. This means any attacker with network access to the vulnerable application can potentially exploit the vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to sensitive student data.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the failure to use parameterized queries or prepared statements when handling user-supplied data. The sub1 parameter value is directly incorporated into SQL query strings without proper escaping or sanitization, enabling attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be launched remotely over the network by sending crafted HTTP requests to the /add-subject.php endpoint. An attacker would manipulate the sub1 parameter to include SQL metacharacters and malicious SQL statements. This could enable various attacks including:

• Extracting sensitive data from the database through UNION-based or error-based SQL injection techniques
• Bypassing authentication by manipulating query logic
• Modifying or deleting database records
• Potentially executing system commands if database permissions allow

The exploit has been disclosed publicly, and detailed information is available through the GitHub Issue Report and VulDB CTI Report #306588.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4108

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected or malformed requests to /add-subject.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, semicolons, or SQL keywords
• Database error messages appearing in web server logs or application responses
• Unusual database query patterns or execution of administrative SQL commands
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database modifications

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in the sub1 parameter
• Implement application-level logging to capture all requests to /add-subject.php with parameter values
• Configure database auditing to alert on unusual query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection attack payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for requests containing SQL injection indicators in query parameters
• Set up alerts for database errors that may indicate injection attempts
• Review application logs for repeated failed requests or error conditions related to the subject management functionality
• Implement real-time monitoring of database activity for suspicious query execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4108

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the PHPGurukul Student Record System to trusted IP ranges only
• Implement input validation on all user-supplied parameters, particularly the sub1 parameter
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Consider taking the application offline until a patch is available if it contains sensitive data

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no official patch has been released by PHPGurukul for this vulnerability. Organizations using Student Record System version 3.20 should monitor the PHPGurukul website for security updates. Additional technical details and community discussion are available at VulDB #306588.

Workarounds

• Implement parameterized queries or prepared statements in the /add-subject.php file to prevent SQL injection
• Add server-side input validation to reject malicious characters and SQL keywords in the sub1 parameter
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection filtering capabilities in front of the application
• Restrict database user privileges to minimum required permissions to limit the impact of successful exploitation
• Consider using virtual patching through WAF rules as a temporary mitigation

# Example: Apache mod_security rule to block SQL injection attempts
SecRule ARGS:sub1 "(?i)(union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|truncate|exec|benchmark|sleep)" \
    "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection attempt blocked in sub1 parameter'"