CVE-2025-1144 is a critical vulnerability identified in the Quanxun School Affairs System, which is a software product used for managing school administrative tasks. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-497, indicating an exposure of sensitive system information to an unauthorized control sphere. Specifically, this flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to access certain pages within the system and retrieve sensitive data, including database information and plaintext administrator credentials. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting its critical severity. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N), making it highly exploitable remotely. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), meaning attackers can fully compromise the system by obtaining credentials and potentially manipulating or disrupting the system. No patches or mitigations have been published yet, and there are no known exploits in the wild at the time of reporting. The vulnerability's presence in version 0 of the product suggests it may affect initial or early releases of the software. The exposure of plaintext administrator credentials is particularly severe, as it can lead to complete system takeover, unauthorized data access, and further lateral movement within the affected environment.

For European organizations, especially educational institutions using the Quanxun School Affairs System, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Unauthorized access to administrator credentials can lead to full system compromise, exposing sensitive student and staff data, disrupting school operations, and potentially violating GDPR and other data protection regulations. The breach of confidentiality and integrity could result in data leaks, manipulation of academic records, and unauthorized changes to administrative settings. Availability impact could disrupt critical school functions, affecting teaching, grading, and communication. Given the criticality and ease of exploitation, attackers could leverage this vulnerability for espionage, ransomware deployment, or as a foothold for broader attacks within educational networks. The lack of authentication and user interaction requirements increases the likelihood of exploitation, making timely mitigation essential to protect European educational data and infrastructure.

Immediate mitigation steps include isolating the affected system from public networks until a patch is available. Network-level controls such as firewall rules should restrict access to the School Affairs System to trusted IP ranges only. Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with custom rules to detect and block unauthorized access attempts to sensitive pages can reduce exposure. Organizations should conduct thorough credential audits and enforce password changes for all administrator accounts, assuming potential compromise. Monitoring and logging access to the system should be enhanced to detect suspicious activity promptly. If possible, deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA) on administrative accounts to mitigate risks from credential exposure. Vendors and users should prioritize obtaining and applying security patches once released. Additionally, conducting penetration testing and vulnerability assessments on the system can help identify other potential weaknesses. Educating staff about the risks and signs of compromise will further strengthen defense.