CVE-2025-5656: PHPGurukul CMS SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-5656 Overview

CVE-2025-5656 is a SQL injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0. The flaw exists in the /admin/edit-category.php file, where the description parameter is passed unsanitized into a SQL query. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can manipulate this parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network and has been publicly disclosed, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic exploitation against exposed installations. The weakness is classified under [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component).

Critical Impact
Remote attackers with low-privileged access can inject arbitrary SQL through the description parameter in /admin/edit-category.php, potentially exposing or modifying complaint records stored in the backend database.

Affected Products

PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0
Deployments using the unmodified /admin/edit-category.php admin endpoint
Installations exposed to untrusted network access without compensating WAF controls

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-05 - CVE-2025-5656 published to NVD
2025-06-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5656

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the admin-side category editing workflow of PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0. The /admin/edit-category.php script accepts a description argument and incorporates it directly into a SQL statement without parameterization or input sanitization. An attacker authenticated to the admin interface can submit a crafted description value that breaks out of the intended SQL context and appends attacker-controlled clauses. Successful exploitation allows reading, modifying, or deleting records in the underlying database, depending on the privileges of the database user account configured for the application.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of user-supplied input passed to a SQL interpreter [CWE-74]. The edit-category.php handler concatenates the description parameter into a query string instead of using prepared statements with bound parameters. Because PHP's legacy MySQL extensions do not enforce parameterization, any unsanitized input becomes part of the executable SQL. Refer to the GitHub Issue Tracker for technical details of the reported issue.

Attack Vector

The attack is initiated remotely over HTTP. An attacker requires low-privileged authenticated access to the admin panel to reach the vulnerable endpoint. Once authenticated, the attacker submits a POST request to /admin/edit-category.php with a malicious payload in the description field. The injected SQL executes within the application's database session, enabling data extraction through union-based or boolean-based techniques. No user interaction beyond the attacker's own authenticated session is required.

No verified public exploit code has been catalogued. See the VulDB CTI #311146 entry for additional context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5656

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP POST requests to /admin/edit-category.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or comment sequences in the description parameter
Unexpected database errors or stack traces returned in admin responses following category edits
New or modified rows in the tblcategory table that do not correspond to legitimate administrative activity

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall rules that inspect POST bodies submitted to /admin/edit-category.php and block known SQL injection signatures
Enable verbose query logging on the MySQL backend and alert on queries originating from the application that contain stacked statements or tautologies
Correlate admin authentication events with subsequent category-edit requests to identify anomalous session behavior

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor admin panel access logs for repeated failed or unusual edit attempts from a single source IP
Track database user privilege escalation attempts and unauthorized INFORMATION_SCHEMA queries
Alert on outbound data transfers from the database host that exceed baseline volumes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5656

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict access to /admin/ paths using IP allowlisting or VPN-gated network segmentation until a fix is applied
Rotate admin credentials and review recent admin account activity for signs of compromise
Audit the tblcategory and related tables for unauthorized modifications

Patch Information

No vendor patch has been published for PHPGurukul Complaint Management System 2.0 at the time of writing. Monitor the PHP Gurukul Main Site for vendor updates, and review the VulDB #311146 entry for ongoing disclosure status.

Workarounds

Place the application behind a web application firewall configured to block SQL injection patterns in the description parameter
Modify /admin/edit-category.php to use prepared statements with mysqli_prepare() or PDO bound parameters in place of string concatenation
Apply least-privilege principles to the database account used by the application, removing DROP, ALTER, and cross-database permissions
Disable or remove the admin category-editing functionality if it is not required in the deployment

bash

# Configuration example: restrict admin path at the web server level
# Apache .htaccess for /admin/
<RequireAll>
  Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
  Require valid-user
</RequireAll>