CVE-2025-7831: Church Donation System SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-7831 Overview

A critical SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in code-projects Church Donation System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the file /members/Tithes.php where the trcode parameter is improperly handled, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate database queries without authentication, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to extract sensitive donor information, modify financial records, or disrupt church donation management operations.

Affected Products

• Carmelo Church Donation System 1.0
• code-projects Church Donation System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-19 - CVE-2025-7831 published to NVD
• 2025-07-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-7831

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) affects the Tithes management functionality within the Church Donation System. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input in the trcode argument before incorporating it into SQL queries, creating a classic injection point that can be exploited remotely.

The vulnerability is accessible over the network without requiring any prior authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for publicly exposed instances of the application. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to read, modify, or delete database contents, potentially exposing sensitive donor information including names, contact details, and financial contribution records.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the /members/Tithes.php file. The trcode parameter is directly concatenated into SQL statements without proper escaping or the use of prepared statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query context and execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by sending crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable /members/Tithes.php endpoint. By manipulating the trcode parameter with SQL metacharacters and injection payloads, an attacker can alter the logic of database queries. Common attack techniques include:

The exploitation involves sending malicious input through the trcode parameter that contains SQL syntax designed to modify query behavior. Attackers may use techniques such as UNION-based injection to extract data from other database tables, boolean-based blind injection to infer database contents through application responses, or time-based blind injection using database delay functions to exfiltrate data when direct output is not available. Technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the GitHub Issue Discussion and VulDB #316935.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-7831

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages appearing in web server logs related to /members/Tithes.php
• HTTP requests to Tithes.php containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1, or comment sequences like -- or /*
• Database query logs showing unexpected queries or access to sensitive tables
• Anomalous response times from the application that may indicate time-based SQL injection attempts

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in the trcode parameter
• Enable detailed logging for all requests to /members/Tithes.php and analyze for injection signatures
• Deploy database activity monitoring to identify unauthorized query patterns or data access
• Use intrusion detection systems with signatures for SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for requests containing encoded SQL injection payloads targeting the vulnerable endpoint
• Set up alerts for database errors that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Review application logs for failed authentication or authorization events following injection attempts
• Implement real-time monitoring for unusual database read operations on donor or tithe-related tables

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-7831

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Church Donation System to trusted internal networks or VPN-only access
• Implement web application firewall rules to filter malicious input to /members/Tithes.php
• Consider temporarily disabling the vulnerable Tithes functionality until a patch is applied
• Back up the database immediately to preserve data integrity in case of compromise

Patch Information

As of the last update on 2025-07-29, no official patch from the vendor has been documented. Organizations should monitor the Code Projects Security Resources for updates. In the absence of an official fix, applying input validation at the application or infrastructure level is strongly recommended. For additional vulnerability details, refer to VulDB CTI ID #316935.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to sanitize the trcode parameter, allowing only expected alphanumeric characters
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests containing SQL injection payloads
• Apply the principle of least privilege to database accounts used by the application
• If source code access is available, modify Tithes.php to use parameterized queries or prepared statements

# Example WAF rule to block SQL injection in trcode parameter (ModSecurity)
SecRule ARGS:trcode "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:100001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in trcode parameter',\
    log,\
    auditlog"