CVE-2025-4153: Park Ticketing Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-4153 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Park Ticketing Management System version 2.0. This vulnerability exists in the /profile.php file, where improper handling of the adminname parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially enabling unauthorized access to sensitive database information, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially gain unauthorized access to the underlying system through the vulnerable adminname parameter in /profile.php.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Park Ticketing Management System 2.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-01 - CVE-2025-4153 published to NVD
• 2025-05-07 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4153

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as SQL Injection (CWE-89) with an underlying Injection weakness (CWE-74). The vulnerability resides in the /profile.php file of the Park Ticketing Management System, where user-supplied input through the adminname parameter is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. This lack of input validation allows attackers to manipulate the SQL query structure by injecting malicious SQL code.

The attack can be launched remotely over the network, requiring no authentication or user interaction. When exploited, an attacker can potentially read, modify, or delete data from the database, bypass authentication mechanisms, or in some cases escalate to operating system command execution depending on database configuration and privileges.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the /profile.php file. The adminname parameter is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper sanitization or the use of prepared statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, meaning an attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the /profile.php endpoint. The attacker manipulates the adminname parameter value to include SQL injection payloads. Since the exploit has been publicly disclosed, attackers have access to the technical details needed to craft exploitation attempts.

The vulnerability allows injection through the adminname parameter in /profile.php. An attacker can craft malicious input that escapes the expected string context and injects arbitrary SQL commands. This could include UNION-based attacks to extract data from other tables, boolean-based blind injection to enumerate database contents, or time-based blind injection techniques. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB #306685.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4153

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages in application logs referencing /profile.php
• HTTP requests to /profile.php containing SQL keywords or special characters in the adminname parameter (e.g., single quotes, UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1)
• Unexpected database queries or data access patterns originating from web application processes
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database modifications

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns targeting the adminname parameter
• Monitor application and web server logs for requests to /profile.php containing suspicious characters or SQL syntax
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Utilize intrusion detection systems with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all requests to /profile.php and review for injection attempts
• Configure database audit logging to track queries executed by the web application user
• Set up alerts for multiple failed login attempts or unusual authentication patterns that may indicate exploitation
• Monitor for unexpected outbound connections from the database server that could indicate data exfiltration

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4153

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove or restrict access to the PHPGurukul Park Ticketing Management System until a patch is available
• Implement input validation and sanitization for the adminname parameter as a temporary measure
• Deploy Web Application Firewall rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting /profile.php
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess potential data compromise

Patch Information

No official patch from PHPGurukul has been identified at the time of this analysis. Organizations should monitor the PHP Gurukul website for security updates. In the absence of an official patch, consider implementing the workarounds below or replacing the application with a more secure alternative.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements or parameterized queries in the /profile.php file to prevent SQL injection
• Add server-side input validation to reject special characters and SQL keywords in the adminname field
• Restrict network access to the application to trusted IP ranges only
• Consider placing the application behind a reverse proxy with SQL injection filtering capabilities

# Example: Apache mod_security rule to block SQL injection attempts
# Add to .htaccess or Apache configuration
SecRule ARGS:adminname "@detectSQLi" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in adminname parameter'"