CVE-2025-5216: PHPGurukul Student Record System SQLi

CVE-2025-5216 Overview

A critical SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.20. This vulnerability exists in the /login.php file, where improper handling of the ID parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. The flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially enabling unauthorized database access, data exfiltration, or manipulation of student records.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to access, modify, or delete sensitive student data stored in the application's database.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Student Record System 3.20

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-27 - CVE-2025-5216 published to NVD
• 2025-06-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5216

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command) and CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The SQL Injection flaw exists within the login functionality of the Student Record System, specifically in /login.php. When user-supplied input is passed to the ID parameter, it is incorporated directly into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization.

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making it accessible to any remote attacker who can reach the application. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to bypass authentication, extract sensitive student information, modify academic records, or potentially gain further access to the underlying database server.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to properly sanitize or parameterize user input before incorporating it into SQL queries. The ID parameter in /login.php is directly concatenated into database queries, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands. This represents a fundamental secure coding failure where user-controlled input is trusted without validation.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by any unauthenticated attacker. The vulnerable endpoint is the /login.php file, where the ID parameter accepts user input. An attacker can craft malicious SQL payloads within this parameter to manipulate the underlying database queries.

Typical SQL Injection attack techniques applicable to this vulnerability include:

• Authentication Bypass: Using SQL syntax such as ' OR '1'='1 to bypass login controls
• UNION-based Injection: Extracting data from other database tables by appending UNION SELECT statements
• Error-based Injection: Forcing database errors to reveal information about the database structure
• Time-based Blind Injection: Using database delay functions to extract data character by character when direct output is not visible

Technical details and proof of concept information are available in the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5216

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /login.php containing SQL meta-characters such as single quotes, double dashes, semicolons, or UNION keywords in the ID parameter
• Database error messages appearing in application responses indicating SQL syntax issues
• Unusual database query patterns or increased query execution times in database logs
• Unauthorized access to student records or administrative functions

Detection Strategies

• Configure Web Application Firewalls (WAF) to inspect and block requests to /login.php containing common SQL Injection payloads
• Implement application-level logging to capture all authentication attempts and flag suspicious parameter values
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous queries, especially those containing UNION statements or time-delay functions
• Deploy intrusion detection systems with signatures for SQL Injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on the web server and database server to capture all requests to authentication endpoints
• Set up alerts for multiple failed login attempts or authentication anomalies originating from the same source
• Regularly review web application logs for evidence of SQL Injection probing activities
• Consider implementing database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized data access patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5216

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the PHPGurukul Student Record System to trusted IP addresses only until a patch is available
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL Injection protection rules in front of the application
• Review database logs and access patterns for evidence of prior exploitation
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains highly sensitive data and cannot be adequately protected

Patch Information

No official patch has been released by PHPGurukul at the time of this writing. Organizations should monitor the PHP Gurukul Security Resource for security updates and patch announcements. Additional vulnerability details are tracked in VulDB #310312.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries in the /login.php file to prevent SQL Injection
• Apply input validation and sanitization to all user-supplied parameters, rejecting any input containing SQL meta-characters
• Restrict database user permissions to the minimum required for application functionality
• Enable database connection encryption and ensure the application uses least-privilege database accounts

# Example: Restrict access to the vulnerable application using iptables
# Allow access only from trusted internal network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP

# Alternative: Use .htaccess to restrict access to login.php
# Add to .htaccess in the application directory
# <Files "login.php">
#   Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
# </Files>