CVE-2025-52410: Critical Time-Based Blind SQL Injection Flaw in Institute-of-Current-Students v1.0

Overview

CVE-2025-52410 describes a critical security vulnerability affecting Institute-of-Current-Students version 1.0, a PHP project. The vulnerability is a time-based blind SQL injection located within the mydetailsstudent.php endpoint. Specifically, the myds GET parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in SQL queries, allowing attackers to potentially extract sensitive data from the database.

Technical Details

The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation on the myds GET parameter in mydetailsstudent.php. An attacker can inject malicious SQL code into this parameter. Since it is a *time-based blind* SQL injection, the attacker will not receive direct feedback of query execution. Instead, the attacker can use SQL functions like SLEEP() to introduce delays, observing the response time to infer whether the injected code is being executed successfully. This allows the attacker to determine true/false conditions and extract data bit by bit, making exploitation challenging but possible.

Example of a potentially exploitable URL:

mydetailsstudent.php?myds=1' AND IF(SUBSTRING((SELECT version()),1,1)='5', SLEEP(5), 0) --+

In this example, if the first character of the database version is ‘5’, the server will sleep for 5 seconds. By varying the injected SQL and observing the response time, the attacker can slowly extract information.

CVSS Analysis

As of the time of writing, a CVSS score for CVE-2025-52410 is not available (N/A). However, given that it’s a time-based blind SQL injection, which allows for potential data exfiltration, it’s likely to receive a high severity rating (e.g., 7.5 or higher) once assessed. A successful exploit could compromise sensitive student data stored in the database. Factors influencing the final score will include the scope of the potential data breach and the privileges of the database user account used by the application.

Possible Impact

A successful exploit of CVE-2025-52410 could have significant consequences, including:

• Data Breach: Extraction of sensitive student information, such as names, addresses, contact details, academic records, and potentially financial information.
• Account Compromise: Use of extracted credentials to access student accounts or administrator accounts.
• System Compromise: Depending on database privileges, the attacker might be able to execute arbitrary commands on the server.
• Reputational Damage: The institution’s reputation could be severely damaged due to a data breach.

Mitigation or Patch Steps

To mitigate CVE-2025-52410, the following steps should be taken:

• Input Validation and Sanitization: Implement robust input validation and sanitization on the myds GET parameter in mydetailsstudent.php. Use parameterized queries or prepared statements, which separate SQL code from data, preventing injection attacks.
• Least Privilege Principle: Ensure that the database user account used by the application has the minimum necessary privileges. Avoid using a highly privileged account for routine database operations.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to detect and block SQL injection attempts. Configure the WAF with appropriate rules to filter out malicious input.
• Software Update: Upgrade to a patched version of Institute-of-Current-Students if available. If a patch is not available, consider disabling the affected functionality until a fix is released.
• Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities in the application.

References

• GitHub Issue: Institute-of-Current-Students – PHP Project – Issue #2
• National Vulnerability Database (NVD) (Check for CVE updates and details once available)