CVE-2025-7168: Crime Reporting System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-7168 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in code-projects Crime Reporting System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /userlogin.php file, where the email parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL statements, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or complete database compromise.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass authentication, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially gain unauthorized access to the underlying system.

Affected Products

• code-projects Crime Reporting System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-08 - CVE-2025-7168 published to NVD
• 2025-07-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-7168

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the user authentication mechanism in the Crime Reporting System. The /userlogin.php endpoint processes user-supplied email addresses without proper input validation or parameterized queries. When a user submits login credentials, the email parameter is directly concatenated into an SQL query, creating an injection point that attackers can exploit remotely without authentication.

The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate the database query logic through crafted input in the email field. Since the application fails to sanitize or escape special SQL characters, malicious payloads can alter the intended query behavior, enabling authentication bypass, data exfiltration, or database manipulation.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation (CWE-74: Injection). The application fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into SQL statements. Instead of using prepared statements or parameterized queries, the code directly concatenates user-supplied data into the SQL query string, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network without any authentication or user interaction required. An attacker can craft a malicious HTTP request to the /userlogin.php endpoint with a specially crafted payload in the email parameter. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, making this vulnerability accessible to a wide range of threat actors.

The vulnerability mechanism involves injecting SQL syntax through the email parameter field. Attackers can use techniques such as comment injection, UNION-based queries, or boolean-based blind injection to extract database contents or bypass authentication controls. For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB #315107.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-7168

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed email addresses in login request logs containing SQL syntax characters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords
• Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful authentication from the same source IP
• Database error messages appearing in application logs indicating SQL syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries or data access patterns in database audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in POST parameters to /userlogin.php
• Monitor HTTP access logs for requests containing SQL injection signatures in the email parameter
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns or unauthorized data access
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on SQL injection attack signatures

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the /userlogin.php endpoint to capture all authentication attempts and parameter values
• Set up real-time alerts for database errors or exceptions that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Monitor for unusual data exfiltration patterns or large query responses from the application database
• Review authentication logs regularly for signs of bypass attempts or unauthorized access

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-7168

Immediate Actions Required

• Implement input validation and sanitization for the email parameter in /userlogin.php
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules as an interim measure
• Review and audit all database queries in the application for similar injection vulnerabilities
• Consider restricting network access to the application until a patch can be applied

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been released at this time. Organizations using code-projects Crime Reporting System 1.0 should monitor the Code Projects Security Resources page for updates. In the absence of an official fix, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

Workarounds

• Modify the /userlogin.php file to use prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of string concatenation
• Implement server-side input validation to reject email addresses containing SQL special characters
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection filtering capabilities in front of the application
• Restrict database user permissions to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation

# Example WAF rule to block SQL injection in email parameter (ModSecurity)
SecRule ARGS:email "@detectSQLi" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'SQL Injection Detected in Email Parameter'"