Overview
CVE-2025-13545 describes a medium severity SQL injection vulnerability found in the ashraf-kabir travel agency software, specifically affecting versions up to commit 1f25aa03544bc5fb7a9e846f8a7879cecdb0cad3. The vulnerability resides within the /admin_area/index.php file and is triggered through manipulation of the edit_pack argument. This allows for remote exploitation. A public exploit is available, making this vulnerability readily exploitable. Unfortunately, the vendor utilizes continuous delivery with rolling releases, making it difficult to pinpoint specific affected versions or available updates. Attempts to contact the vendor regarding this disclosure have been unsuccessful.
Technical Details
The vulnerability is a classic SQL injection. By crafting a malicious input for the edit_pack parameter in the /admin_area/index.php page, an attacker can inject arbitrary SQL code into the application’s database queries. This allows the attacker to potentially:
- Bypass authentication
- Read sensitive data, including user credentials, financial information, and travel itineraries.
- Modify data, potentially disrupting services or causing financial harm.
- Execute arbitrary commands on the database server (depending on database configuration).
The lack of input validation on the edit_pack parameter is the root cause of this issue.
CVSS Analysis
The vulnerability has a CVSS v3 score of 4.7, categorized as MEDIUM severity.
- CVSS Score: 4.7
- Vector: AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- Explanation:
- AV:N (Network): The vulnerability is exploitable over the network.
- AC:H (High): Exploitation requires specific conditions to be met, possibly requiring user interaction or prior knowledge of the system. This is potentially misleading, since exploit has been disclosed and there are no specific conditions.
- PR:N (None): No privileges are required to exploit the vulnerability.
- UI:R (Required): User interaction is required, meaning an attacker needs to trick a user into performing an action (e.g., clicking a malicious link). This is debatable since a direct POST request to /admin_area/index.php might be enough
- S:U (Unchanged): An exploited vulnerability results in a compromise only of the vulnerable component.
- C:L (Low): There is limited information disclosure.
- I:L (Low): There is limited data modification.
- A:N (None): There is no impact to system availability.
Possible Impact
The impact of a successful SQL injection attack can be significant. Even with a medium severity rating, the following consequences are possible:
- Data Breach: Sensitive customer data, including personal information, payment details, and travel plans, could be exposed.
- Account Takeover: Attackers could potentially gain access to administrator accounts and control the entire platform.
- Reputation Damage: A security breach can severely damage the reputation of ashraf-kabir travel agency, leading to loss of customer trust.
- Financial Loss: Remediation efforts, legal consequences, and loss of business can result in significant financial losses.
- Service Disruption: Attackers could modify or delete data, disrupting travel booking services and causing inconvenience to customers.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
Due to the vendor’s lack of response and use of continuous delivery, providing specific patch information is impossible. However, the following general mitigation strategies should be implemented:
- Input Validation: Implement rigorous input validation on all user-supplied data, especially the
edit_packparameter. Sanitize or reject any input that contains suspicious characters or patterns. - Prepared Statements: Use parameterized queries or prepared statements in database interactions. This prevents SQL injection by separating code from data.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to detect and block malicious requests, including SQL injection attempts. Configure the WAF with rules that specifically target SQL injection vulnerabilities.
- Least Privilege Principle: Ensure that the database user used by the application has only the necessary privileges to perform its tasks. Avoid using a database user with full administrative rights.
- Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
- Monitor Database Activity: Implement database activity monitoring to detect and respond to suspicious queries.
- Consider moving away from this software: The vendor’s lack of response and security practices may warrant a migration to a more secure and responsive solution.