CVE-2025-4757: Beauty Parlour Management System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-4757 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Beauty Parlour Management System version 1.1. This critical security flaw exists in the /forgot-password.php file, where improper handling of the email parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially compromising the entire database backend.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated 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 forgot password functionality.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Beauty Parlour Management System 1.1
• Web applications using the vulnerable /forgot-password.php endpoint
• Systems running unpatched versions of the Beauty Parlour Management System

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-16 - CVE-2025-4757 published to NVD
• 2025-05-27 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4757

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists due to insufficient input validation and sanitization in the password recovery functionality of the Beauty Parlour Management System. The email parameter in /forgot-password.php is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper parameterization or escaping, allowing attackers to manipulate the query structure.

The vulnerability is accessible over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for internet-facing deployments. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or in severe cases, complete database compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands (CWE-89) combined with injection flaws (CWE-74). The application fails to validate, sanitize, or parameterize user-supplied input in the email field before constructing SQL queries. This allows malicious input containing SQL metacharacters to alter the intended query logic.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely through network access. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /forgot-password.php endpoint with SQL injection payloads in the email parameter. Since no authentication is required, any network-accessible attacker can attempt exploitation.

The typical attack flow involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable endpoint (/forgot-password.php)
2. Submitting crafted SQL payloads through the email parameter
3. Observing application responses to determine successful injection
4. Extracting data or manipulating the database through various SQL injection techniques

Technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB #309059.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4757

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /forgot-password.php containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION statements
• Database error messages appearing in web server logs or responses related to the password recovery function
• Unexpected database queries or data access patterns originating from the web application
• Authentication anomalies or unauthorized account access following password reset attempts

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns targeting the email parameter
• Monitor web server access logs for requests to /forgot-password.php containing suspicious characters or SQL keywords
• Deploy database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all requests to authentication and password recovery endpoints
• Set up alerts for database errors or exceptions triggered by the web application
• Monitor for bulk or automated requests to the /forgot-password.php endpoint
• Review database query logs for unexpected UNION, SELECT, or other SQL statements from the application

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4757

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the vulnerable /forgot-password.php endpoint if password recovery is not essential
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Review and audit all user input handling in the application for similar vulnerabilities
• Consider temporarily disabling the password recovery feature until a patch is applied

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released at the time of this writing. System administrators should monitor the PHP Gurukul Resource Hub for security updates. In the absence of an official patch, implement the workarounds and mitigations described below.

Additional vulnerability details are available at VulDB CTI #309059.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions involving user input
• Add server-side input validation to strictly enforce email format validation before processing
• Deploy a WAF configured to block SQL injection attempts targeting the vulnerable parameter
• Restrict access to the management system to trusted networks only using firewall rules or VPN requirements

# Example: Apache mod_rewrite rule to block suspicious requests
# Add to .htaccess in the web root directory
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (union|select|insert|update|delete|drop|;|'|") [NC]
RewriteRule ^forgot-password\.php - [F,L]