CVE-2025-4157: Phpgurukul Boat Booking System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-4157 Overview

CVE-2025-4157 is a SQL injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Boat Booking System 1.0. The flaw resides in the /admin/booking-details.php script, where the Status parameter is concatenated into a SQL query without sanitization. An authenticated administrative user can manipulate the Status argument to inject arbitrary SQL syntax. The attack is remotely executable over the network and requires low privileges with no user interaction. Public disclosure of exploitation details has occurred, increasing exposure for unpatched deployments. The weakness is tracked under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command) and CWE-74.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers with low-privilege access can manipulate backend database queries, exposing booking records and administrative data through the Status parameter in /admin/booking-details.php.

Affected Products

PHPGurukul Boat Booking System 1.0
Component: /admin/booking-details.php
CPE: cpe:2.3:a:phpgurukul:boat_booking_system:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-01 - CVE-2025-4157 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4157

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the administrative booking management interface of the application. The /admin/booking-details.php endpoint accepts a Status parameter that is incorporated directly into a backend SQL statement. Because the parameter is neither parameterized nor escaped, an attacker can break out of the intended query context. This permits arbitrary SQL clauses to be appended, including UNION-based extraction, boolean blind enumeration, or time-based inference. The EPSS probability for in-the-wild exploitation is 0.342%, placing the issue in the 25.9 percentile.

Root Cause

The root cause is unsafe construction of SQL queries through direct string concatenation of HTTP request parameters. The Status argument flows from the request into a query without prepared statements or input validation. PHP code paths in booking-details.php trust attacker-controlled input as a structural element of the SQL grammar rather than treating it as data.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network against the admin interface. An attacker submits a crafted HTTP request to /admin/booking-details.php with a malicious Status value containing SQL metacharacters. Successful injection can return additional rows, modify booking states, or extract credentials and session data from the database. The publicly disclosed exploit lowers the barrier to weaponization. See the GitHub Issue CVE-9 Discussion and the VulDB #306689 Detailed Overview for technical artifacts.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4157

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests to /admin/booking-details.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION SELECT, --, OR 1=1, or SLEEP( in the Status parameter.
Web server access logs showing repeated requests to booking-details.php from the same source with varying Status values.
Database error messages referencing MySQL syntax errors near the Status column in application or PHP error logs.
Unexpected modifications or reads in booking-related tables outside of normal administrative workflows.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL injection signatures targeting the Status parameter on administrative endpoints.
Enable database query logging and alert on anomalous query shapes originating from the boat booking application user.
Use static analysis tools to identify unparameterized SQL concatenation patterns in PHP source code.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor authentication and access logs for unusual admin session activity preceding requests to booking-details.php.
Correlate web request anomalies with database errors and response-size deviations to identify blind injection probing.
Forward web server and database logs to a centralized SIEM for behavioral analytics on administrative endpoints.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4157

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to /admin/ paths using IP allowlists or VPN-only access until a patch is applied.
Audit administrator accounts and rotate credentials in case credential reuse enabled abuse of the low-privilege requirement.
Review database logs for evidence of prior injection attempts against the Status parameter.
Deploy WAF signatures that block SQL injection payloads on the booking-details.php endpoint.

Patch Information

No vendor patch is currently referenced in the NVD entry for CVE-2025-4157. Operators should monitor the PHP Gurukul Security Blog for updates and consider replacing the affected version. Refer to the VulDB #306689 Threat Report for additional mitigation context.

Workarounds

Modify booking-details.php to use parameterized queries through PDO or mysqli prepared statements for the Status parameter.
Apply server-side input validation that restricts Status to a fixed enumeration of expected values.
Run the database account used by the application with least-privilege permissions to limit the impact of successful injection.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) blocking SQLi on the Status parameter
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /admin/booking-details.php" \
  "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1004157,msg:'CVE-2025-4157 SQLi attempt'"
  SecRule ARGS:Status "@rx (?i)(union(\s)+select|--|';|\bor\b\s+1=1|sleep\()" \
  "t:none,t:urlDecode,t:lowercase"