CVE-2025-5977: School Fees Payment System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-5977 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in code-projects School Fees Payment System version 1.0. This critical issue affects the processing of the /datatable.php file, where the manipulation of the sSortDir_0 argument can be exploited to perform SQL injection attacks. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable and details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of active exploitation.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract, modify, or delete sensitive database contents including student records and payment information.

Affected Products

• Fabian School Fees Payment System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-5977 published to NVD
• 2025-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5977

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as SQL Injection (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The vulnerable endpoint /datatable.php fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the sSortDir_0 parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This parameter is typically used in DataTables implementations to specify the sort direction (ascending or descending) for table columns.

The lack of input validation allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands through the sorting parameter, potentially bypassing authentication mechanisms, accessing sensitive data, or modifying database contents. The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means attackers can exploit it remotely without requiring prior authentication.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the /datatable.php endpoint. The sSortDir_0 parameter, which should only accept ASC or DESC values for SQL ORDER BY clauses, is directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or prepared statement implementation. This classic SQL injection pattern occurs when dynamic SQL is constructed using untrusted user input.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /datatable.php endpoint, injecting SQL payloads through the sSortDir_0 parameter. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited with low complexity, attackers can potentially:

• Extract sensitive student and payment records from the database
• Modify or delete financial transaction data
• Potentially escalate privileges within the application
• In some configurations, execute operating system commands through database features

The vulnerability has been publicly disclosed, and technical details are available through the GitHub CVE Issue Tracker, which increases the likelihood of exploitation attempts.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5977

Indicators of Compromise

• Anomalous HTTP requests to /datatable.php containing SQL syntax in the sSortDir_0 parameter
• Database logs showing unusual queries with ORDER BY clauses containing SQL injection patterns
• Web application firewall alerts for SQL injection attempts targeting DataTables endpoints
• Unexpected database access patterns or data exfiltration activity

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in DataTables parameters
• Monitor web server access logs for requests to /datatable.php with suspicious sSortDir_0 values containing quotes, semicolons, or SQL keywords
• Implement database activity monitoring to alert on unusual query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Configure intrusion detection systems to identify SQL injection attack signatures targeting sorting parameters

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the web server to capture full request parameters for /datatable.php
• Set up alerts for database queries that deviate from expected ORDER BY patterns
• Monitor for mass data extraction attempts or unusual database read operations
• Review application error logs for SQL syntax errors that may indicate failed injection attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5977

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to /datatable.php through network segmentation or access control lists until patching is possible
• Implement input validation to whitelist only ASC and DESC values for the sSortDir_0 parameter
• Deploy WAF rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting this endpoint
• Consider taking the affected application offline if it processes sensitive data

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations using the School Fees Payment System should contact the vendor or check Code Projects Resource for updates. Additional vulnerability details are available through VulDB #311855.

Workarounds

• Implement a server-side whitelist filter that only allows ASC or DESC values for the sSortDir_0 parameter
• Replace dynamic SQL query construction with parameterized prepared statements
• Apply the principle of least privilege to database accounts used by the application
• Consider deploying a reverse proxy with SQL injection filtering capabilities in front of the application

# Example Apache mod_rewrite rule to block suspicious sSortDir_0 values
# Add to .htaccess or Apache configuration
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} sSortDir_0=(?!ASC|DESC)[^&]* [NC]
RewriteRule ^datatable\.php$ - [F,L]