CVE Alert: CVE-2025-11556 – code-projects – Simple Leave Manager

Risk verdict

High risk with remote SQL injection available to exploited endpoints; exploit code has been published, so urgent action is required.

Why this matters

Successful exploitation can lead to data disclosure and modification of leave records and related personal data, potentially impacting payroll, HR processes, and regulatory compliance. The vulnerability provides unauthenticated, remote access to the database, increasing risk for organisations hosting the app on internet-facing infrastructure.

Most likely attack path

Attacker visits the web endpoint /user.php and supplies crafted input in the table parameter (no authentication, no user interaction required). The CVSS metrics indicate remote, low-complexity access with no privileges required, enabling data reading and modification with partial impact (C:L/I:L/A:L). Public exploit availability raises likelihood of automated attempts and rapid weaponisation.

Who is most exposed

Any organisation running the web-based Simple Leave Manager instance on Internet-facing servers is at risk, especially SMBs hosting the application locally or via insecure cloud entries without robust input sanitisation or database access controls.

Detection ideas

• Web server logs show repeated /user.php requests with abnormal table parameter values.
• SQL errors or unusual database error codes surfaced in logs or monitoring alerts.
• Sudden spikes in data retrieval or writes to the leave management DB.
• IDS/IPS triggers for typical SQL injection patterns (e.g., unusual UNION or tautological queries).

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply any available vendor patch or upgrade to a fixed release; verify integrity in staging first.
• Implement input validation and use parameterised queries/prepared statements for all dynamic fields.
• Deploy WAF rules to block SQLi payloads targeting the table parameter; enforce least-privilege DB accounts.
• Restrict network exposure of the DB and isolate the app tier; enable robust logging and backups before changes.
• If KEV is confirmed or EPSS ≥ 0.5, treat as priority 1. If not, continue with high-priority remediation and monitoring.