CVE-2025-3134
📋 TL;DR
A critical SQL injection vulnerability in code-projects Payroll Management System 1.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the 'rate' parameter in /add_overtime.php. This affects all organizations using this specific payroll software version. Attackers can potentially access, modify, or delete sensitive payroll data.
💻 Affected Systems
- code-projects Payroll Management System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including theft of sensitive employee data (SSNs, salaries, bank details), unauthorized payroll modifications, and potential system takeover via SQL injection escalation.
Likely Case
Data exfiltration of payroll information, unauthorized viewing of sensitive employee records, and potential database corruption.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and database permissions, potentially only error messages or minor data exposure.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit details are publicly available on GitHub. The vulnerability requires no authentication and has simple exploitation vectors.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://code-projects.org/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
No official patch available. Consider migrating to alternative payroll software or implementing workarounds.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Sanitization
allAdd parameterized queries or input validation to the 'rate' parameter in /add_overtime.php
Modify PHP code to use prepared statements: $stmt = $conn->prepare('INSERT INTO overtime (rate) VALUES (?)'); $stmt->bind_param('s', $rate);
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules
allBlock SQL injection patterns targeting the /add_overtime.php endpoint
Add WAF rule: deny requests to /add_overtime.php containing SQL keywords in parameters
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Block external access to /add_overtime.php using firewall rules or web server configuration
- Implement database user with minimal permissions (read-only where possible) for the application
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test the /add_overtime.php endpoint with SQL injection payloads in the 'rate' parameter (e.g., rate=1' OR '1'='1)Check Version:
Check software version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify that SQL injection payloads no longer execute and return proper error handling📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple failed login attempts following SQL errors
- Requests to /add_overtime.php with SQL keywords in parameters
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound database connections
- Traffic spikes to /add_overtime.php endpoint
SIEM Query:
source=web_logs url="/add_overtime.php" AND (param="rate" AND value MATCH "[';]|UNION|SELECT|INSERT|DELETE|UPDATE")