CVE-2025-6911: Student Record System SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-6911 Overview

CVE-2025-6911 is a SQL injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Student Record System version 3.2. The flaw resides in the /manage-subjects.php script, where the del parameter is passed to a database query without proper sanitization. An authenticated remote attacker can manipulate this parameter to inject arbitrary SQL statements. The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-74] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The exploit details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic abuse against exposed installations.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers with low-level privileges can inject SQL commands through the del parameter, potentially altering or extracting data from the underlying student records database.

Affected Products

• PHPGurukul Student Record System 3.2
• Component: manage-subjects.php
• Vendor: PHPGurukul

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-30 - CVE-2025-6911 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
• 2026-04-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-6911

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists in the manage-subjects.php script of PHPGurukul Student Record System 3.2. The script accepts a del request parameter intended to identify a subject record for deletion. The application concatenates this parameter directly into a SQL query without parameterized statements or input validation.

Attackers can supply crafted SQL syntax through del to break out of the intended query context. This allows arbitrary SQL clauses to execute against the backend database. The attack requires network access and a low-privilege authenticated session against the web application.

Successful exploitation enables limited read, write, and availability impact on the database contents. Because the affected endpoint manages subject records, attackers can manipulate academic data, enumerate other tables, or trigger denial of service conditions through long-running injected queries.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of user input passed through the del parameter. The codebase does not use prepared statements or escape input before embedding it in the SQL query string. This pattern matches the classic injection class described in [CWE-74].

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based. An authenticated user sends an HTTP request to /manage-subjects.php with a malicious payload in the del parameter. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own request. The vulnerability mechanism is described in the GitHub Issue Discussion and the VulDB #314404 entry. No verified exploit code is republished here.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-6911

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /manage-subjects.php containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION, or SLEEP( within the del parameter
• Web server access logs showing unusually long or URL-encoded del parameter values
• Unexpected database errors or schema enumeration queries originating from the application's database user

Detection Strategies

• Inspect web application firewall (WAF) and reverse proxy logs for SQL injection signatures targeting the del query string parameter
• Correlate authenticated session activity with database query logs to identify anomalous DELETE, UNION, or information_schema access patterns
• Apply database activity monitoring rules that flag queries deviating from the application's baseline query templates

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the PHP application and underlying MySQL or MariaDB instance
• Forward web and database logs to a centralized analytics platform for cross-source correlation
• Set alerts for repeated 500-level responses from manage-subjects.php, which often indicate failed injection probes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-6911

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Student Record System admin interface to trusted IP ranges or VPN users
• Audit all administrative accounts and disable unused or default credentials that could be leveraged for authenticated exploitation
• Deploy WAF rules that block SQL injection patterns on the del parameter of /manage-subjects.php

Patch Information

At the time of NVD publication, no official vendor patch is referenced in the PHP Gurukul advisories for this issue. Administrators should monitor the vendor site and the VulDB CTI ID #314404 entry for fix announcements. Until a patch is released, mitigation relies on compensating controls and code-level fixes that replace string concatenation with parameterized queries.

Workarounds

• Modify manage-subjects.php to use PHP Data Objects (PDO) prepared statements with bound parameters for the del value
• Validate that del contains only the expected integer format before passing it to any SQL statement
• Run the application's database account with least privilege so that injected statements cannot drop tables or access unrelated schemas

# Example WAF rule pattern (ModSecurity) to block SQL metacharacters in the del parameter
SecRule ARGS:del "@rx (?i)(union|select|sleep|--|;|')" \
    "id:1006911,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Possible SQLi on manage-subjects.php del parameter'"