CVE Alert: CVE-2025-11656 – ProjectsAndPrograms – School Management System

Risk verdict

High risk: unauthenticated, remote arbitrary file upload with a publicly available exploit elevates the likelihood of immediate compromise; explicit KEV/SSVC exploitation status is not stated, so treat with heightened caution.

Why this matters

An attacker can exploit an unrestricted upload in editNotes.php to achieve remote code execution on the web server, potentially stealing data, defacing records, or pivoting into internal networks. With no user interaction required, impact is broad and time-critical for affected sites.

Most likely attack path

• Network-accessible upload endpoint is abused to place a malicious file in the server’s web root.
• No privileges or user interaction needed; attacker relies on a vulnerable file-handling flow to bypass access controls.
• Once uploaded and executed, attacker can compromise the web server process, enabling data access or further lateral movement within the hosting environment.

Who is most exposed

Education sector deployments that run the School Management System in internet-facing or misconfigured cloud/on-prem environments are most at risk; unauthenticated upload endpoints are common in such setups.

Detection ideas

• Alerts for new or modified files under /assets/editNotes.php and adjacent upload directories.
• Unusual PHP file creations or executions in web-root upload paths.
• Anomalous POST requests with file payloads targeting editNotes.php.
• Unauthorised web shell activity or callbacks from newly uploaded files.
• Sudden spikes in failed or blocked upload attempts.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Patch promptly when vendor or community fix is available; implement temporary mitigations if needed.
• Disable or closely restrict file uploads; implement allowlists for allowed file types and size limits.
• Bind the upload directory to non-executable permissions or relocate to a non-scriptable location; remove execute permissions for uploaded content.
• Require authentication for editNotes.php and validate all input server-side; implement input sanitisation and content checks.
• Deploy web application firewall rules to block known upload-based payloads; monitor and log upload activity.
• Change-management: apply in a controlled window; verify log integrity and post-patch testing.
• If KEV true or EPSS ≥ 0.5 (data not provided here), treat as priority 1.