CVE-2025-4739: Hospital Database Management SQL Injection

CVE-2025-4739 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in Projectworlds Hospital Database Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /medicines_info.php file where the Med_ID parameter is improperly sanitized, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. This flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate database queries, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data modification, or extraction of sensitive patient and medical records stored within the hospital management system.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive healthcare data, modify medical records, or potentially gain further access to backend database systems containing protected health information.

Affected Products

• Projectworlds Hospital Database Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-16 - CVE-2025-4739 published to NVD
• 2025-08-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4739

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied input in the Med_ID parameter within the /medicines_info.php endpoint. The application fails to properly sanitize or parameterize user input before incorporating it into SQL queries, creating a classic SQL injection attack surface. Healthcare management systems like this typically store sensitive patient records, medication information, prescription data, and administrative credentials—all of which become accessible to an attacker exploiting this flaw.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation against unpatched installations. Given the nature of healthcare data, successful exploitation could result in HIPAA violations, patient privacy breaches, and potential manipulation of critical medical records.

Root Cause

The root cause is a failure to implement proper input validation and parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the PHP application. The Med_ID parameter is directly concatenated into SQL query strings without sanitization, escaping, or type validation. This allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component), indicating both the specific injection type and the broader input neutralization failure.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without requiring authentication. An attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request to the /medicines_info.php endpoint, manipulating the Med_ID parameter to include SQL injection payloads. These payloads can be used to:

• Extract database contents using UNION-based or blind SQL injection techniques
• Bypass authentication mechanisms by manipulating WHERE clauses
• Modify or delete records in the database
• Potentially execute stored procedures or system commands depending on database configuration

The attack requires no user interaction and can be executed with standard HTTP tools or automated SQL injection utilities. For detailed technical information about the exploitation technique, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue and VulDB entry #309039.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4739

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed HTTP requests targeting /medicines_info.php with suspicious Med_ID parameter values containing SQL syntax such as single quotes, semicolons, or SQL keywords
• Database error messages or unexpected application behavior following requests to the medicines endpoint
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unexpected database queries in database logs, particularly SELECT statements targeting sensitive tables
• Web server access logs showing scanning patterns or repeated requests to /medicines_info.php with varying payloads

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in the Med_ID parameter and similar endpoints
• Implement application-level logging to capture all requests to /medicines_info.php and flag those containing potential injection characters or keywords
• Enable database query logging and monitor for anomalous queries originating from the web application user account
• Use intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web application logs for increased error rates or unusual patterns in requests to the vulnerable endpoint
• Set up alerts for database authentication failures or privilege escalation attempts that may indicate post-exploitation activity
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the Hospital Database Management System installation to detect any unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4739

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Hospital Database Management System to trusted IP addresses only until a patch is available
• Implement WAF rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the /medicines_info.php endpoint
• Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation and assess potential data exposure
• Consider taking the application offline if it processes sensitive healthcare data and cannot be adequately protected

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been identified at this time. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed, and organizations using Projectworlds Hospital Database Management System 1.0 should contact the vendor for remediation guidance or consider alternative solutions. Monitor the VulDB submission for updates on patch availability.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application level to reject Med_ID values that do not conform to expected formats (typically numeric identifiers)
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF in front of the application configured to sanitize or block malicious input
• Modify the application source code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions involving user input
• Apply principle of least privilege to the database user account used by the application, restricting access to only necessary tables and operations

# Example WAF rule configuration for ModSecurity
# Block SQL injection patterns in Med_ID parameter
SecRule ARGS:Med_ID "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in Med_ID parameter',\
    tag:'CVE-2025-4739'"