CVE Alert: CVE-2025-9790 – SourceCodester – Hotel Reservation System

Risk verdict

High risk: remote SQL injection with a publicly released exploit and a PoC exists; exploitation can occur without authentication.

Why this matters

The flaw enables unauthenticated actors to interact with the underlying database over the network, risking data exposure, alteration or corruption. In hospitality settings, this can translate to bookings data leakage, credential exposure, and regulatory or reputational damage, especially if backups or admin functions are affected.

Most likely attack path

An attacker sends crafted input to a web-facing parameter via the vulnerable endpoint; no user interaction or login is required, enabling remote access. Successful exploitation could permit reading or modifying data, with the primary impact on confidentiality and integrity. If the database credentials are misconfigured or reused elsewhere, limited lateral movement onto related systems could be possible.

Who is most exposed

Organizations running legacy web applications with public admin interfaces in the hospitality sector, often on shared hosting or simple LAMP stacks, are most at risk. Exposure is heightened where input validation is minimal and error handling reveals database details.

Detection ideas

• Hits with common SQL injection patterns in the address parameter or query strings.
• Web/app errors or database error messages returned to responses.
• WAF alerts for SQLi signatures on the vulnerable endpoint.
• Unusual data export patterns or unexpected changes to admin-accessible content.
• Anomalous login or access attempts tied to the endpoint during off-hours.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply vendor patch or upgrade to a fixed version as a first step; verify patch applicability.
• Implement input validation and parameterised queries; remove dynamic string concatenation in the implicated code.
• Deploy WAF/IPS rules to block known SQLi payloads targeting the endpoint; enable logging of blocked attempts.
• Strengthen access controls: restrict admin endpoints, enforce authentication, and rotate credentials; isolate database accounts with least privilege.
• Plan a rapid remediation window; test in staging before production; monitor for exploitation attempts and perform post-patch verification.