CVE-2025-6578: Simple Hotel Reservation System SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-6578 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in code-projects Simple Online Hotel Reservation System 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the /admin/delete_account.php file, where improper handling of the admin_id parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. The flaw can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially enabling unauthorized database access, data manipulation, and administrative account compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data, modify database records, or potentially gain complete control over the hotel reservation system's backend database.

Affected Products

• Fabian Simple Online Hotel Reservation System 1.0
• code-projects Simple Online Hotel Reservation System

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-24 - CVE-2025-6578 published to NVD
• 2025-07-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-6578

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability (CWE-89) occurs in the administrative interface of the Simple Online Hotel Reservation System, specifically within the account deletion functionality. The vulnerable endpoint /admin/delete_account.php fails to properly sanitize the admin_id parameter before incorporating it into SQL queries. This creates a classic injection point where user-controlled input is directly concatenated into database queries without adequate validation or parameterization.

The vulnerability is classified under both CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and CWE-74 (Injection), indicating a fundamental failure in input validation and output encoding practices. The network-accessible nature of this flaw means attackers can exploit it remotely, targeting internet-exposed hotel reservation systems.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the lack of parameterized queries in the PHP code handling the admin_id parameter. When processing account deletion requests, the application directly incorporates the user-supplied admin_id value into SQL statements without sanitization, escaping, or the use of prepared statements. This allows specially crafted input to alter the intended SQL query logic.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /admin/delete_account.php endpoint, injecting SQL payloads through the admin_id parameter. The exploitation technique typically involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable parameter through reconnaissance
2. Testing for SQL injection using common payloads (e.g., single quotes, boolean-based tests)
3. Exploiting the injection to extract database contents, modify records, or escalate privileges

The vulnerability mechanism involves direct parameter manipulation in the delete account functionality. When a malicious admin_id value containing SQL syntax is submitted, the unsanitized input becomes part of the executed query, allowing attackers to alter database operations. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the VulDB #313774 Technical Overview and the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-6578

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to /admin/delete_account.php containing SQL keywords such as SELECT, UNION, INSERT, DELETE, DROP, or comment sequences (--, /*)
• Web server access logs showing multiple requests with encoded SQL payloads in the admin_id parameter
• Database error messages or anomalies in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unexpected changes to admin accounts or database records without corresponding legitimate administrative actions

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns targeting the admin_id parameter
• Implement intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures for common SQL injection payloads in HTTP POST/GET parameters
• Monitor application and database logs for query syntax errors or unusual query patterns originating from the admin panel
• Enable database auditing to track unauthorized SELECT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations on sensitive tables

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for access attempts to /admin/delete_account.php from untrusted IP addresses or geographic locations
• Establish baseline metrics for normal administrative database operations and alert on statistical anomalies
• Integrate security information and event management (SIEM) correlation rules to identify SQL injection attack campaigns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-6578

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the administrative interface (/admin/) to trusted IP addresses only using firewall rules or .htaccess configurations
• Implement input validation on the admin_id parameter to accept only numeric values
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules as an interim defensive measure
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains sensitive data and cannot be immediately patched

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released for this vulnerability at the time of publication. Organizations using the Simple Online Hotel Reservation System should monitor the Code Projects Security Resources for updates. Given the critical nature of SQL injection vulnerabilities and the lack of an official fix, organizations should prioritize implementing workarounds or consider migrating to a more secure alternative solution.

Workarounds

• Implement prepared statements with parameterized queries for all database interactions in /admin/delete_account.php
• Add strict input validation to ensure the admin_id parameter contains only integer values before processing
• Use PHP's mysqli_real_escape_string() or PDO with prepared statements as a defense-in-depth measure
• Restrict administrative panel access to VPN-only or internal network segments

# Example .htaccess configuration to restrict admin access
<Directory "/var/www/html/admin">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Directory>