CVE-2025-8957: Campcodes Flight Booking SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-8957 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been identified in Campcodes Online Flight Booking Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the /flights.php file where the departure_airport_id parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL commands, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, modification, or deletion.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the database, bypass authentication mechanisms, or manipulate flight booking records without authorization.

Affected Products

• Campcodes Online Flight Booking Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• August 14, 2025 - CVE-2025-8957 published to NVD
• August 14, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-8957

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability occurs due to improper input validation in the flight search functionality. The /flights.php endpoint accepts a departure_airport_id parameter that is directly incorporated into database queries without adequate sanitization or parameterization. Since the vulnerability is accessible over the network without requiring authentication, any remote attacker can craft malicious requests to exploit this flaw. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of exploitation in the wild.

Root Cause

The root cause is classified under CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component). The application fails to properly validate, sanitize, or escape user-supplied input in the departure_airport_id parameter before constructing SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL syntax that gets executed by the database server.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the /flights.php endpoint with malicious SQL payloads in the departure_airport_id parameter. The injected SQL commands are then executed by the backend database server with the privileges of the application's database user.

The vulnerability can be exploited by manipulating the departure_airport_id parameter in HTTP requests to the /flights.php endpoint. Attackers can inject SQL syntax such as single quotes, UNION statements, or time-based payloads to extract database contents, enumerate table structures, or bypass application logic. Additional technical details and proof-of-concept information can be found in the Yuque Vulnerability Details documentation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-8957

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /flights.php containing SQL metacharacters (single quotes, double dashes, UNION SELECT statements)
• Database error messages exposed in HTTP responses indicating SQL syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries or data access patterns in database logs
• Large data exports or unusual SELECT queries targeting sensitive tables

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns in the departure_airport_id parameter
• Monitor web server access logs for requests to /flights.php containing suspicious payloads such as ', --, UNION, SELECT, or encoded variants
• Enable database query logging and alert on anomalous query patterns or errors
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for SQL injection attacks

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for any SQL error messages in application logs
• Monitor database audit logs for unauthorized data access or privilege escalation attempts
• Implement rate limiting on the /flights.php endpoint to slow down automated exploitation attempts
• Review web server logs regularly for scanning activity targeting this vulnerability

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-8957

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict public access to the affected /flights.php endpoint until a patch is available
• Implement input validation to reject requests containing SQL metacharacters in the departure_airport_id parameter
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Review and harden database user permissions to minimize the impact of successful exploitation

Patch Information

No official patch information is currently available from the vendor. Organizations using Campcodes Online Flight Booking Management System 1.0 should contact Campcodes directly for remediation guidance or consider implementing the workarounds described below. Monitor the VulDB entry for updates on patch availability.

Workarounds

• Use prepared statements or parameterized queries when modifying the source code to prevent SQL injection
• Implement strict input validation using allowlists for the departure_airport_id parameter (accept only numeric values)
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF to filter malicious requests before they reach the application
• Consider disabling or restricting access to the flight search functionality until the vulnerability is properly remediated

# Example Apache ModSecurity rule to block SQL injection attempts
SecRule ARGS:departure_airport_id "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in departure_airport_id parameter',\
    logdata:'%{MATCHED_VAR}',\
    severity:'CRITICAL'"