CVE-2025-5371: Health Center Patient Record System SQLi

CVE-2025-5371 Overview

A critical SQL Injection vulnerability has been discovered in SourceCodester Health Center Patient Record Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /admin/admin.php file where the Username parameter is not properly sanitized, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL statements. This flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially compromising the entire patient record database.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability remotely to extract, modify, or delete sensitive patient health records from the underlying database.

Affected Products

• Razormist Health Center Patient Record Management System 1.0
• Systems running /admin/admin.php with vulnerable Username parameter handling

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-31 - CVE-2025-5371 published to NVD
• 2025-06-04 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5371

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands within the authentication mechanism of the Health Center Patient Record Management System. The /admin/admin.php endpoint accepts user-supplied input through the Username parameter without adequate validation or parameterized queries.

The flaw allows attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting SQL syntax through the login form. Since the application directly concatenates user input into SQL statements, malicious actors can bypass authentication controls, enumerate database contents, or execute arbitrary database commands. The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means any attacker with network access to the application can attempt exploitation without requiring prior authentication or user interaction.

Healthcare patient management systems contain highly sensitive protected health information (PHI), making this vulnerability particularly concerning from a data privacy and regulatory compliance perspective.

Root Cause

The root cause is a classic input validation failure where the Username parameter in /admin/admin.php is directly interpolated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or the use of prepared statements. This violates secure coding practices and introduces CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) and CWE-89 (SQL Injection) weaknesses.

Attack Vector

The attack can be launched remotely over the network. An attacker submits a crafted payload through the Username field on the admin login page. The malicious input is processed by the backend PHP script, which constructs a SQL query using string concatenation. This allows the attacker to alter the query logic, potentially achieving authentication bypass, data exfiltration, or database manipulation.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic attacks against unpatched systems. Technical details are available in the GitHub Issue #4 Discussion and VulDB #310664 Details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5371

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed login attempts targeting /admin/admin.php with SQL metacharacters in the Username field
• Database query errors or anomalies in application logs related to the admin authentication endpoint
• Unexpected database access patterns or bulk data extraction from patient records tables
• Failed login attempts followed by successful authentication without valid credentials

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in POST parameters targeting /admin/admin.php
• Implement database activity monitoring to identify anomalous queries originating from the patient management application
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on common SQL injection signatures such as ' OR 1=1, UNION SELECT, and comment sequences
• Review application logs for authentication bypass indicators and suspicious Username parameter values

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the admin authentication module and forward logs to a SIEM platform for analysis
• Monitor for unusual administrative actions or data access following login events
• Set up alerts for database queries containing SQL injection keywords originating from the web application
• Track authentication success rates and investigate anomalous patterns suggesting bypass attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5371

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the /admin/admin.php endpoint to trusted IP addresses only
• Implement input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied parameters, particularly the Username field
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules as a temporary mitigation
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains sensitive patient data until proper remediation is implemented

Patch Information

As of the last NVD update on 2025-06-04, no official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability. Organizations using Razormist Health Center Patient Record Management System 1.0 should monitor SourceCodester for security updates or consider migrating to a more secure patient record management solution.

For tracking updates on this vulnerability, refer to VulDB CTI #310664.

Workarounds

• Implement parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the /admin/admin.php file to prevent SQL injection
• Apply strict input validation using allowlists for the Username parameter, rejecting any SQL metacharacters
• Use a web application firewall to filter malicious requests before they reach the application
• Restrict administrative interface access to internal networks only via VPN or network segmentation

# Example Apache configuration to restrict admin access by IP
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Require ip 192.168.1.0/24
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>