Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities

Critical Security Alert: SQL Injection Found in PHPGurukul Billing System 1.0 (CVE-2025-65380)

Overview

CVE-2025-65380 details a significant SQL Injection vulnerability discovered in PHPGurukul Billing System version 1.0. This vulnerability exists in the admin/index.php endpoint, allowing attackers to potentially execute arbitrary SQL queries on the backend database by manipulating the username parameter. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification of data, or even complete compromise of the application and its underlying database server.

Technical Details

The vulnerability stems from the lack of proper sanitization and validation of user input within the admin/index.php script. Specifically, the username parameter is directly concatenated into an SQL query without any form of escaping or parameterization. This allows an attacker to inject malicious SQL code within the username field, which is then executed by the database server. The vulnerable code snippet (illustrative):

        $username = $_POST['username'];
        $query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '" . $username . "'";
        $result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
        

An attacker can exploit this by providing a malicious username such as: ' OR '1'='1. This would result in the query becoming:

        SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '' OR '1'='1'
        

Which effectively bypasses authentication.

CVSS Analysis

Currently, the CVSS score and severity for CVE-2025-65380 are listed as N/A. However, based on the nature of the vulnerability (SQL Injection) and its potential impact, it is likely to be classified as High or Critical severity. A high CVSS score can be expected once formally assessed due to the ease of exploitation and the potential for significant data breaches.

Possible Impact

Successful exploitation of this SQL Injection vulnerability can have severe consequences, including:

  • Data Breach: Unauthorized access to sensitive data, including user credentials, financial information, and other confidential data stored in the database.
  • Data Manipulation: Modification or deletion of data within the database, leading to data corruption or loss.
  • Account Takeover: Bypassing authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access to administrative accounts.
  • Privilege Escalation: Gaining elevated privileges within the application.
  • Complete System Compromise: In some cases, SQL Injection can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code on the database server, leading to complete system compromise.

Mitigation and Patch Steps

To mitigate this vulnerability, the following steps are recommended:

  1. Upgrade: Check the official PHPGurukul website for a patched version of the Billing System. Applying the latest security updates is the most effective way to address this vulnerability.
  2. Input Sanitization: Implement robust input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied data, especially the username parameter in admin/index.php. Use appropriate escaping functions (e.g., mysqli_real_escape_string()) before incorporating data into SQL queries.
  3. Parameterized Queries (Prepared Statements): The most secure approach is to use parameterized queries (prepared statements). This prevents SQL injection by treating user input as data rather than executable code.
  4.                 $username = $_POST['username'];
                    $stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");
                    $stmt->bind_param("s", $username);
                    $stmt->execute();
                    $result = $stmt->get_result();
                 
  5. Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to filter out malicious requests and protect the application from SQL injection attacks.
  6. Least Privilege Principle: Ensure that the database user account used by the application has the minimum necessary privileges.
  7. Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

References

Cybersecurity specialist and founder of Gowri Shankar Infosec - a professional blog dedicated to sharing actionable insights on cybersecurity, data protection, server administration, and compliance frameworks including SOC 2, PCI DSS, and GDPR.

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