CVE-2025-9047: Visitor Management System SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-9047 Overview

A SQL Injection vulnerability has been discovered in projectworlds Visitor Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in an unknown function of the file /visitor_out.php. The manipulation of the argument rid enables SQL injection attacks. This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network, making it accessible to unauthenticated attackers. The exploit has been publicly disclosed and may be actively used.

Critical Impact

This SQL Injection vulnerability allows remote attackers to manipulate database queries through the rid parameter in /visitor_out.php, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data modification, or complete database compromise.

Affected Products

• Projectworlds Visitor Management System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-08-15 - CVE-2025-9047 published to NVD
• 2025-08-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-9047

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component) affects the Projectworlds Visitor Management System. The vulnerability resides in the /visitor_out.php file where the rid parameter is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL statements that are executed by the backend database.

The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without requiring any authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to read sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially escalate to more severe attacks depending on the database configuration and privileges.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries in the /visitor_out.php file. The rid parameter is directly concatenated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or the use of prepared statements. This classic injection vulnerability pattern allows user-supplied input to be interpreted as SQL code rather than data.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the /visitor_out.php endpoint with specially crafted values for the rid parameter. The injected SQL code is then executed by the database server with the same privileges as the application's database connection.

The attack does not require authentication or any special privileges, and no user interaction is needed. The attacker simply needs network access to the vulnerable web application endpoint to exploit this vulnerability.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-9047

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed requests to /visitor_out.php containing SQL syntax in the rid parameter
• Database error messages appearing in application logs or responses indicating SQL syntax errors
• Unexpected database queries containing UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or other common SQL injection patterns
• Anomalous database activity such as bulk data extraction or unauthorized modifications

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in the rid parameter
• Monitor application logs for requests to /visitor_out.php containing suspicious characters such as single quotes, semicolons, or SQL keywords
• Enable database query logging and alert on queries with injection signatures
• Deploy intrusion detection systems with SQL injection detection rulesets

Monitoring Recommendations

• Set up alerting for HTTP requests to /visitor_out.php with abnormal parameter lengths or special characters
• Monitor database server logs for failed authentication attempts or permission denied errors following web requests
• Implement real-time log correlation between web server access logs and database query logs
• Review and audit database access patterns for the application's database user account

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-9047

Immediate Actions Required

• If possible, restrict access to the /visitor_out.php endpoint until a patch is available
• Implement input validation at the web application firewall level to filter malicious requests
• Review and restrict database user privileges to minimum required permissions
• Consider taking the vulnerable application offline if it processes sensitive data

Patch Information

No official vendor patch has been identified for this vulnerability at this time. Organizations using Projectworlds Visitor Management System 1.0 should contact the vendor for security update availability. Additional technical details can be found at VulDB Entry #320268 and the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion.

Workarounds

• Implement a Web Application Firewall with SQL injection protection rules in front of the application
• Add server-side input validation to sanitize the rid parameter, allowing only numeric values if the parameter should be an integer
• Modify the application code to use parameterized queries or prepared statements instead of string concatenation
• Restrict network access to the application using IP whitelisting or VPN requirements

# Example WAF rule configuration for ModSecurity
# Block SQL injection attempts in the rid parameter
SecRule ARGS:rid "@detectSQLi" \
    "id:1001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'SQL Injection attempt detected in rid parameter'"