CVE-2025-4112: PHPGurukul Student Record System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-4112 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20. The vulnerability exists in the /add-course.php file where the course-short parameter is improperly handled, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially enabling unauthorized access to the underlying database.

Critical Impact

This SQL injection vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate database queries through the course-short parameter, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion of student records.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20
• Web applications deployed with vulnerable /add-course.php functionality

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-30 - CVE-2025-4112 published to NVD
• 2025-05-13 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4112

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as SQL Injection (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The vulnerable endpoint /add-course.php fails to properly sanitize user input submitted through the course-short parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands that the database server executes with the same privileges as the application.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation in the wild. Educational institutions using this student record management system should treat this vulnerability with urgency given the sensitive nature of student data typically stored in such systems.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the lack of parameterized queries or prepared statements when handling the course-short parameter in the course addition functionality. User-supplied input is directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or escaping, allowing malicious SQL code to be executed by the database engine.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring authentication. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /add-course.php endpoint with specially crafted SQL injection payloads in the course-short parameter. The vulnerability exploits the application's failure to validate input, enabling attackers to extract sensitive information, bypass authentication, modify data, or potentially gain further system access depending on database permissions.

The vulnerability is exploited by submitting malformed input through the course-short parameter that breaks out of the intended SQL query context. Typical SQL injection techniques such as UNION-based injection, error-based injection, or time-based blind injection may be applicable depending on the application's error handling and database configuration. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB #306592.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4112

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed HTTP POST/GET requests to /add-course.php containing SQL syntax characters (single quotes, double dashes, UNION, SELECT, etc.)
• Database error messages appearing in application logs or responses
• Unexpected database queries in database audit logs, particularly those with abnormal structures
• Unauthorized access attempts or data exfiltration patterns in network traffic

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns targeting the course-short parameter
• Enable detailed logging on the /add-course.php endpoint and monitor for suspicious parameter values
• Configure database query logging and alert on queries containing injection patterns
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with SQL injection signature detection

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for repeated requests to /add-course.php with varying course-short parameter values
• Set up alerts for database errors related to malformed queries originating from the application
• Implement anomaly detection for unusual data access patterns in the student records database
• Review authentication and access logs for unauthorized administrative actions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4112

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /add-course.php endpoint through network-level controls or application firewall rules
• Implement input validation to whitelist only expected characters for the course-short parameter
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection enabled
• Consider temporarily disabling the course addition functionality until a patch is available

Patch Information

As of the last update, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. System administrators should monitor the PHP Gurukul Security Resources for security updates. In the absence of an official fix, implementing the recommended workarounds and defensive measures is critical to protect against exploitation.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries in the application code for all database interactions
• Add server-side input validation to reject any input containing SQL metacharacters
• Configure the database user account with minimum required privileges (principle of least privilege)
• Enable database-level protections such as query length limits and stored procedure restrictions
• Consider using a virtual patching solution through WAF rules to filter malicious requests

# Example Apache .htaccess rule to restrict access to vulnerable endpoint
# Place in the web root directory
<Files "add-course.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    # Allow only from trusted admin IP addresses
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
</Files>