CVE-2025-8240
📋 TL;DR
This critical SQL injection vulnerability in Exam Form Submission 1.0 allows attackers to manipulate database queries through the phone parameter in /user/dashboard.php. Remote attackers can potentially access, modify, or delete sensitive data in the database. All users running the vulnerable software are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Exam Form Submission
📦 What is this software?
Exam Form Submission by Code Projects
⚠️ 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 user data, exam records, and potential privilege escalation
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and database permissions restricting damage to non-critical data
🎯 Exploit Status
Public exploit available on GitHub, SQL injection is straightforward to weaponize
🛠️ 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 software or implementing workarounds.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation and Sanitization
allAdd parameterized queries or input validation for phone parameter in dashboard.php
Edit /user/dashboard.php to use prepared statements with PDO or mysqli
Web Application Firewall Rules
allBlock SQL injection patterns targeting phone parameter
Add WAF rule: deny requests with SQL keywords in phone parameter
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate the application behind a reverse proxy with strict input filtering
- Implement network segmentation to limit database access from the application server
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test /user/dashboard.php with SQL injection payloads in phone parameter (e.g., phone=1' OR '1'='1)Check Version:
Check software version in admin panel or configuration filesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify parameterized queries are implemented and SQL injection attempts return errors instead of executing📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL errors in application logs
- Multiple failed login attempts from single IP
- Unexpected database queries
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with SQL keywords in phone parameter
- Unusual database connection patterns
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url="/user/dashboard.php" AND (phone CONTAINS "UNION" OR phone CONTAINS "SELECT" OR phone CONTAINS "OR"))