Overview
CVE-2025-13349 details a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability discovered in SourceCodester Student Grades Management System version 1.0. This low-severity flaw allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code into the system via the “Remarks” field on the “Add New Grade Page” (/grades.php). Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to account compromise, data theft, or defacement of the application. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable, and a public exploit is already available.
Technical Details
The vulnerability resides within the /grades.php page, specifically in the handling of the “Remarks” input field when adding a new grade. The application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input for this field. This lack of input validation enables an attacker to inject arbitrary JavaScript code directly into the database. When other users (or even the administrator) view the affected grade record, the injected script will execute within their browser context. This is a classic example of a stored or persistent XSS vulnerability.
The attack requires authentication, implying an attacker would need to have valid credentials to access the “Add New Grade Page”. However, once the malicious payload is stored, it can potentially impact all users who access the affected grade record.
CVSS Analysis
The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) has assigned CVE-2025-13349 a CVSS score of 3.5, indicating a LOW severity. While the impact can be significant, the low score likely reflects factors such as:
- Attack Complexity: Requires authentication.
- Privileges Required: Requires a user with privileges to add grades.
- User Interaction: Requires a user to view the page containing the malicious code.
Despite the low score, it’s crucial to address this vulnerability promptly, as any XSS vulnerability can be leveraged for malicious purposes.
Possible Impact
Although rated as low severity, the potential impact of CVE-2025-13349 shouldn’t be ignored. Successful exploitation can lead to:
- Account Compromise: An attacker could steal session cookies or credentials of other users who view the infected grade record.
- Data Theft: The attacker could potentially access and steal sensitive data from the application’s database or other accessible resources.
- Website Defacement: The attacker could modify the appearance of the application for users who view the infected page.
- Malware Distribution: The attacker could redirect users to malicious websites.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-13349, the following steps are recommended:
- Input Validation and Sanitization: Implement robust input validation and sanitization on the “Remarks” field (and all other user-supplied input fields) in
/grades.php. Use a library appropriate for your server-side language to properly encode special characters. Specifically, HTML encode characters to prevent them from being interpreted as HTML tags or JavaScript code. - Output Encoding: Ensure that all data retrieved from the database and displayed to users is properly encoded. This prevents the injected JavaScript code from being executed in the user’s browser.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to detect and block malicious requests attempting to exploit the XSS vulnerability.
- Upgrade to a Patched Version (If Available): Check the SourceCodester website for a patched version of the Student Grades Management System. If a patch is available, upgrade to the latest version immediately.
- Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities in your application.
