CVE-2025-6153
📋 TL;DR
This critical SQL injection vulnerability in PHPGurukul Hostel Management System 1.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands through the search_box parameter in /admin/students.php. Attackers can remotely exploit this to access, modify, or delete database content. Organizations using this specific version of the software are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PHPGurukul Hostel Management System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise leading to data theft, data destruction, or full system takeover via SQL injection to RCE chaining
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive student/hostel data, potential privilege escalation, and database manipulation
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation, parameterized queries, and database permission restrictions
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires admin access to reach /admin/students.php endpoint
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://phpgurukul.com/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check vendor website for updates 2. If no patch available, implement workarounds 3. Consider replacing with alternative software
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Sanitization
allAdd server-side validation to sanitize search_box parameter
Modify /admin/students.php to use prepared statements with parameterized queries
Web Application Firewall Rules
allBlock SQL injection patterns targeting search_box parameter
WAF rule: deny requests with SQL keywords in search_box parameter
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to /admin/students.php using IP whitelisting or additional authentication
- Implement database user with minimal permissions (read-only if possible)
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test search_box parameter with SQL injection payloads like ' OR '1'='1Check Version:
Check software version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify parameterized queries are implemented and SQL injection attempts are blocked📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple failed login attempts to admin panel
- Suspicious search patterns in application logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /admin/students.php with SQL keywords in parameters
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri_path="/admin/students.php" AND (param="search_box" AND value MATCHES "(?i)(union|select|insert|delete|update|drop|--|#|;)")