CVE-2025-9444: 1000projects Student Report System SQLi

CVE-2025-9444 Overview

A SQL injection vulnerability has been identified in 1000projects Online Project Report Submission and Evaluation System version 1.0. This vulnerability affects the file /admin/controller/delete_group_student.php, where improper handling of the batch_id parameter allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying database.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data, modify database contents, or potentially gain unauthorized access to the system through crafted requests to the vulnerable endpoint.

Affected Products

• 1000projects Online Student Project Report Submission And Evaluation System 1.0

Discovery Timeline

• August 26, 2025 - CVE-2025-9444 published to NVD
• September 02, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-9444

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL injection vulnerability resides in the administrative controller responsible for deleting group students within the Online Project Report Submission and Evaluation System. The delete_group_student.php script fails to properly sanitize or parameterize user-supplied input through the batch_id argument before incorporating it into SQL queries. This lack of input validation creates a classic injection point that attackers can leverage to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the backend database.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component), which encompasses injection flaws where user input is not properly neutralized before being processed. The network-accessible nature of this web application means that any remote attacker can potentially reach the vulnerable endpoint and attempt exploitation without requiring prior authentication.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation and the absence of parameterized queries or prepared statements in the delete_group_student.php file. When the application processes the batch_id parameter, it directly concatenates or interpolates the user-supplied value into SQL statements without proper sanitization, escaping, or type validation. This allows specially crafted input containing SQL syntax to break out of the intended query context and execute attacker-controlled commands.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by sending crafted HTTP requests to the /admin/controller/delete_group_student.php endpoint. An attacker would manipulate the batch_id parameter to include SQL injection payloads such as UNION-based queries for data extraction, time-based blind injection for inferring database contents, or stacked queries for executing additional SQL commands.

The vulnerability allows attackers to potentially read sensitive information from the database (including student records, project data, and administrative credentials), modify or delete existing records, and in some configurations, execute operating system commands through database features like xp_cmdshell (SQL Server) or LOAD_FILE (MySQL).

Technical details and proof-of-concept information have been disclosed publicly. For more information, refer to the GitHub CVE Issue Discussion and VulDB Entry #321282.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-9444

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to /admin/controller/delete_group_student.php containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, DROP, or -- in the batch_id parameter
• Database error messages in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unusual database query patterns or execution of administrative SQL commands
• Unexpected data extraction or bulk SELECT operations in database audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP parameters targeting the vulnerable endpoint
• Implement database activity monitoring to alert on suspicious query patterns, especially queries containing injection signatures
• Configure application logging to capture all requests to administrative endpoints and analyze for anomalous batch_id values
• Utilize intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common SQL injection attack patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the /admin/controller/ directory to capture all incoming requests with full parameter details
• Monitor database logs for queries originating from the web application that contain unexpected SQL syntax
• Set up alerts for failed authentication attempts or privilege escalation patterns following exploitation attempts
• Review web server access logs regularly for requests with encoded or obfuscated SQL injection payloads

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-9444

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the /admin/controller/delete_group_student.php endpoint using network-level controls or web server configuration
• Implement IP-based access controls to limit administrative functionality to trusted networks only
• Deploy a WAF rule specifically blocking SQL injection attempts on the batch_id parameter
• Consider temporarily disabling the vulnerable functionality until a patch is available

Patch Information

As of the last update on September 02, 2025, no official patch has been released by 1000projects for this vulnerability. Organizations using this system should monitor the vendor's official channels for security updates. In the absence of an official patch, implementing the workarounds below is strongly recommended.

For additional technical information, consult the VulDB CTI Report #321282.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation to ensure batch_id only accepts numeric values before processing
• Use parameterized queries or prepared statements in the affected PHP file to prevent SQL injection
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF with SQL injection protection in front of the application
• Restrict database user privileges to limit the impact of successful SQL injection attacks to the minimum necessary operations

# Example: Apache .htaccess to restrict access to vulnerable endpoint
<Files "delete_group_student.php">
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 192.168.1.0/24
    Allow from 10.0.0.0/8
</Files>