CVE-2025-4761: Phpgurukul Complaint System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-4761 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Complaint Management System version 2.0. This vulnerability affects the /admin/admin-profile.php file, where improper handling of the mobilenumber parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. The vulnerability is classified as critical as it can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially leading to unauthorized database access, data manipulation, and information disclosure.

Critical Impact
Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially execute administrative operations on the underlying database server.

Affected Products

PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0
phpgurukul complaint_management_system

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-16 - CVE-2025-4761 published to NVD
2025-05-27 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4761

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability exists in the admin profile management functionality of PHPGurukul Complaint Management System. The vulnerable endpoint /admin/admin-profile.php fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the mobilenumber parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows an attacker to manipulate the query structure by injecting arbitrary SQL code through the mobile number field.

The vulnerability is network-accessible, meaning attackers can exploit it remotely without requiring any authentication or user interaction. This significantly increases the risk profile as any internet-facing deployment of this application is potentially vulnerable.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the absence of parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the PHP code handling the mobilenumber parameter. The application directly concatenates user input into SQL queries without proper sanitization or escaping, violating secure coding best practices for database interactions.

This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, targeting the /admin/admin-profile.php endpoint. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads in the mobilenumber parameter. The application processes this input and executes the injected SQL commands against the backend database.

The vulnerability manifests when the mobile number field value is processed by the admin profile functionality. Attackers can inject SQL syntax such as single quotes, UNION statements, or boolean-based payloads to manipulate query logic, extract database contents, or modify data. For technical details on the exploitation mechanism, refer to the GitHub Issue #5 Discussion and VulDB #309064.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4761

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual or malformed requests to /admin/admin-profile.php containing SQL syntax characters (single quotes, UNION, SELECT, OR, AND statements)
Database error messages appearing in application logs or responses indicating query failures
Unexpected database queries or access patterns in database server logs
Authentication bypass attempts or unauthorized administrative access

Detection Strategies

Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in the mobilenumber parameter
Implement application-level logging for all requests to admin endpoints with pattern matching for injection attempts
Monitor database query logs for anomalous queries originating from the web application
Enable intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

Configure real-time alerting for requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting /admin/admin-profile.php
Establish baseline metrics for admin profile endpoint usage and alert on deviations
Monitor database connection logs for suspicious query execution times or unusual data access patterns
Review authentication logs for successful logins following failed or anomalous requests

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4761

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict network access to the administrative interface (/admin/) to trusted IP addresses only
Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block SQL injection patterns
Disable or remove the vulnerable application from production environments until patched
Review database logs for evidence of prior exploitation

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information has been released for this vulnerability at the time of publication. Organizations using PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0 should monitor the PHP Gurukul Security Resources for security updates and apply patches immediately when available.

Workarounds

Implement input validation at the application level to reject non-numeric characters in the mobilenumber field
Use prepared statements (parameterized queries) if modifying the source code directly
Place the application behind a reverse proxy with SQL injection filtering capabilities
Consider migrating to an alternative complaint management solution with better security practices

bash

# Example: Block admin access except from trusted IPs (Apache .htaccess)
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>