CVE-2025-7178: Food Distributor Site SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-7178 Overview

A critical SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in code-projects Food Distributor Site version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /admin/login.php file, where the Username parameter is improperly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL commands, potentially bypassing authentication and gaining unauthorized access to the application's backend systems and database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to bypass admin authentication, extract sensitive database contents, or potentially execute arbitrary commands on the underlying database server.

Affected Products

• Fabian Food Distributor Site 1.0
• code-projects Food Distributor Site 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-08 - CVE-2025-7178 published to NVD
• 2025-07-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-7178

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability affects the administrative login functionality of the Food Distributor Site application. The vulnerable endpoint /admin/login.php accepts user-supplied input through the Username parameter without proper input sanitization or parameterized queries. When user input is directly concatenated into SQL queries, attackers can manipulate the query logic by injecting specially crafted SQL syntax.

The vulnerability is network-accessible, requiring no authentication to exploit. An attacker can remotely target the login form and submit malicious payloads through the Username field. Successful exploitation could allow authentication bypass, enabling unauthorized administrative access. Additionally, depending on the database configuration and privileges, attackers may be able to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially achieve further system compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and the use of unsanitized user input in SQL query construction. The application fails to implement prepared statements or parameterized queries, allowing attacker-controlled input from the Username parameter to alter the intended SQL command structure. This is a classic CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) vulnerability pattern commonly found in legacy PHP applications.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation without any authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious SQL injection payloads and submit them through the login form's Username field. Common attack techniques include using SQL syntax like ' OR '1'='1 to bypass authentication logic, UNION-based injection to extract data from other database tables, or time-based blind injection techniques for data exfiltration when direct output is not available.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed and documented, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation. For technical details on the exploitation mechanism, refer to the GitHub PoC Documentation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-7178

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual login attempts to /admin/login.php containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, double dashes, or UNION keywords
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unexpected administrative sessions or login activity from unfamiliar IP addresses
• Database audit logs showing unauthorized SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in the Username parameter
• Monitor HTTP request logs for suspicious characters and SQL keywords in login form submissions
• Configure database activity monitoring to alert on anomalous query patterns or authentication bypass attempts
• Deploy intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures for common SQL injection payloads

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the /admin/login.php endpoint and review logs regularly for injection attempts
• Set up real-time alerts for failed authentication attempts containing special characters
• Monitor database query logs for unexpected or malformed queries originating from the web application
• Implement rate limiting on the admin login endpoint to slow down automated injection attacks

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-7178

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /admin/login.php endpoint using IP allowlisting or VPN requirements
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Consider taking the administrative interface offline until a proper fix can be implemented
• Review database user privileges and ensure the application uses a least-privilege database account

Patch Information

No vendor patch is currently available for this vulnerability. The application is a code-projects educational project, and users should implement manual remediation. Organizations using this software in production environments should prioritize migrating to a secure, maintained application or implementing the code fixes described in the workarounds section. For additional information, refer to the VulDB #315117 advisory.

Workarounds

• Rewrite the login authentication logic to use prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of string concatenation
• Implement strict input validation on the Username parameter, rejecting any input containing SQL metacharacters
• Add a CAPTCHA mechanism to the login form to prevent automated exploitation attempts
• Place the administrative panel behind a reverse proxy with authentication, adding an additional layer of access control

# Apache .htaccess example to restrict admin access by IP
<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>