CVE-2025-8327: Exam Form Submission SQL Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-8327 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in code-projects Exam Form Submission version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /admin/delete_s8.php file, where the ID parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This allows remote attackers to manipulate database queries by injecting malicious SQL code through the ID parameter, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection flaw to extract sensitive data, modify database records, or potentially compromise the underlying database server without authentication.

Affected Products

• code-projects Exam Form Submission 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-30 - CVE-2025-8327 published to NVD
• 2025-08-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-8327

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is a classic SQL Injection flaw (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) affecting the administrative deletion functionality of the Exam Form Submission application. The /admin/delete_s8.php endpoint accepts an ID parameter that is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper input validation or parameterized queries.

When an attacker submits a crafted request containing SQL metacharacters in the ID parameter, the malicious input is interpreted as part of the SQL command rather than as data. This allows the attacker to alter the query logic, potentially accessing unauthorized records, bypassing authentication checks, extracting sensitive information from the database, or performing destructive operations.

The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the urgency for organizations using this software to apply mitigations.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to implement proper input sanitization and parameterized queries (prepared statements) in the /admin/delete_s8.php file. User-supplied input from the ID parameter is directly concatenated into SQL statements, allowing attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network. An attacker does not require authentication to exploit this flaw, as the vulnerable endpoint can be accessed directly. The attack involves sending HTTP requests to the /admin/delete_s8.php endpoint with a maliciously crafted ID parameter containing SQL injection payloads.

The attacker can craft requests that include SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, UNION statements, or boolean-based injection techniques to manipulate the underlying database query. For example, an attacker could use time-based blind injection techniques to extract data character by character, or UNION-based injection to retrieve data from other database tables.

For technical details regarding exploitation, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue #1 and VulDB #318277 entries.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-8327

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /admin/delete_s8.php containing SQL metacharacters in the ID parameter (e.g., single quotes, UNION, SELECT, OR 1=1)
• Unusual database query errors or timeouts in application logs
• Unexpected database query patterns or large data extractions in database audit logs
• Evidence of automated SQL injection scanning tools targeting the application

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in requests to /admin/delete_s8.php
• Monitor application and web server logs for requests containing SQL keywords or special characters in the ID parameter
• Enable database query logging to identify anomalous queries or unauthorized data access attempts
• Deploy intrusion detection systems with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Set up alerts for multiple failed requests or error responses from the /admin/delete_s8.php endpoint
• Monitor database performance metrics for unusual spikes that may indicate injection-based data exfiltration
• Review access logs regularly for requests from suspicious IP addresses targeting administrative endpoints

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-8327

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /admin/delete_s8.php endpoint through IP whitelisting or additional authentication mechanisms
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Consider taking the application offline if it contains sensitive data until a proper fix can be implemented
• Audit database access logs for any signs of exploitation

Patch Information

No official vendor patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor the Code Projects website for updates. In the absence of an official patch, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to ensure the ID parameter only accepts numeric values
• Modify the application code to use parameterized queries (prepared statements) instead of string concatenation for SQL queries
• Deploy a WAF configured to block SQL injection attempts targeting the vulnerable endpoint
• Restrict network access to the administrative interface to trusted IP ranges only

# Example: Apache .htaccess restriction for admin directory
<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>