CVE Alert: CVE-2025-9700 – SourceCodester – Online Book Store

Risk verdict

High risk of remote, unauthenticated SQL injection with a publicly available exploit; requires immediate remediation.

Why this matters

Attackers can read or alter data via the vulnerable endpoint, potentially exfiltrating customer or transactional information. Given internet exposure, even limited success could lead to regulatory, financial, and reputational damage.

Most likely attack path

An attacker can reach the web endpoint over the internet and submit crafted pubid values to trigger unsafe SQL. No credentials or user interaction are required, so exploitation can occur directly through the application surface. Successful use could disclose or modify data and may enable limited data-layer traversal within the app.

Who is most exposed

Organisations hosting SourceCodester Online Book Store on internet-facing servers, especially small enterprises or providers with shared hosting or broad DB access, are most at risk due to common weak default security postures and limited monitoring.

Detection ideas

• Look for anomalous pubid query strings and patterns suggesting injection
• SQL error messages or unusual DB error codes in application logs
• Spikes in 500s or long-running queries tied to publisher_list.php
• IDS/WAF alerts for SQLi patterns (e.g., UNION SELECT, tautologies)
• Unexpected data access or volume from the application’s DB user

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Patch or upgrade to the fixed version; test in staging before production and deploy promptly
• Replace dynamic SQL with parameterised queries; implement strict input validation
• Enforce least-privilege DB access and restrict network paths to the DB; disable verbose error messages
• Deploy WAF rules to block common SQL injection patterns; monitor and alert on anomalous DB activity
• Change-management: plan a coordinated patch window, validate functionality post-patch, and communicate impact; If KEV true or EPSS ≥ 0.5, treat as priority 1.