CVE Alert: CVE-2025-9702 – SourceCodester – Simple Cafe Billing System

Risk verdict

High risk: remote SQL injection with public PoC exploits, enabling data exfiltration and potential integrity impact; remediation should be prioritised.

Why this matters

For a billing/reporting web component, an attacker could access sensitive financial and customer data and tamper reports, undermining trust and potentially triggering regulatory concerns. The public PoC increases the chance of real-world exploitation, especially where input handling is weak or prepared statements are not used.

Most likely attack path

No authentication required and no user interaction needed; an attacker targets a reporting endpoint by injecting the month parameter to execute arbitrary SQL. The vulnerability enables data leakage and possible manipulation while the attack remains within the application’s scope, with attacker-controlled input and remote access.

Who is most exposed

Common in SME deployments hosting web-facing billing or reporting modules on self-managed stacks with internet exposure; any system allowing direct input to a database-backed report is at risk.

Detection ideas

• Unusual SQL syntax or error messages in web or DB logs tied to the reporting endpoint.
• WAF/IPS alerts for SQL injection patterns targeting the month parameter.
• Sudden spikes in long-running queries or data dumps from the reporting DB.
• Repeated probing attempts from external sources for the reporting URL.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply vendor patch or upgrade; enforce parameterised queries and ORM use; remove dynamic SQL.
• Validate and constrain the month input (whitelist acceptable values, use prepared statements).
• Implement least-privilege DB accounts for the reporting component and disable unnecessary write access.
• Deploy robust input validation and error handling; patch management and rollback plans in staging before production.
• Establish enhanced monitoring for the reporting surface and schedule a rapid remediation window.