CVE-2025-5434: Aem Solutions CMS SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-5434 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in Aem Solutions CMS versions up to 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /page.php file where the ID parameter is improperly sanitized, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate database queries without authentication, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially achieve further system compromise through the vulnerable /page.php endpoint.

Affected Products

• Aem Solutions CMS version 1.0 and earlier
• Web applications utilizing the vulnerable /page.php component

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-02 - CVE-2025-5434 published to NVD
• 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Note: The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond. The exploit has been publicly disclosed.

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5434

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) occurs when user-supplied input through the ID parameter is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable and requires no authentication or user interaction, making it accessible to any network-based attacker.

The attack can be executed with low complexity, as the vulnerable endpoint directly processes the malicious input. Successful exploitation could result in unauthorized access to database contents, data manipulation, or information disclosure depending on the underlying database privileges and configuration.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the lack of parameterized queries in the /page.php file. The ID parameter accepts user input that is directly concatenated into SQL statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject arbitrary SQL commands. This represents a classic example of improper neutralization of special elements in downstream components.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted remotely over the network by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the /page.php endpoint with a malicious ID parameter value. An attacker can inject SQL syntax that modifies the intended query logic, enabling operations such as:

• Extracting sensitive data from the database through UNION-based or error-based injection techniques
• Bypassing authentication mechanisms if the affected query handles user validation
• Modifying or deleting database records
• Potentially escalating to command execution depending on database configuration

The exploitation methodology involves crafting payloads that escape the original query context and append attacker-controlled SQL statements. Detailed technical documentation is available in the GitHub Exploit Documentation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5434

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /page.php containing SQL syntax in the ID parameter
• Database query errors appearing in web server logs indicating injection attempts
• Unexpected database access patterns or queries outside normal application behavior
• Web application firewall logs showing blocked SQL injection attempts targeting the affected endpoint

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in requests to /page.php
• Implement intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures for common SQL injection payloads targeting the ID parameter
• Monitor database query logs for anomalous queries originating from the web application
• Enable detailed logging on the web server to capture request parameters for forensic analysis

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for SQL injection patterns in web server access logs
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized queries or data exfiltration
• Review application logs regularly for error messages indicating failed injection attempts
• Monitor network traffic for unusual data transfers from database servers

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5434

Immediate Actions Required

• Remove or disable the vulnerable /page.php endpoint until a patch is available
• Implement web application firewall rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the ID parameter
• Apply network-level access controls to restrict access to the affected CMS installation
• Conduct a security audit to identify any signs of prior exploitation

Patch Information

No official patch is currently available from the vendor. According to the vulnerability disclosure, the vendor was contacted early but did not respond. Organizations using Aem Solutions CMS should implement the workarounds listed below and monitor for vendor updates. Additional technical details and tracking information can be found at VulDB #310767.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to sanitize the ID parameter, accepting only numeric values
• Use parameterized queries or prepared statements if modifying the source code is possible
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection filtering capabilities
• Consider migrating to an alternative CMS solution that is actively maintained

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block SQL injection in ID parameter
SecRule ARGS:ID "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in ID parameter',\
    log,\
    auditlog"