CVE-2025-5252 is a SQL Injection vulnerability identified in the PHPGurukul News Portal Project version 4.1, specifically within the /admin/edit-subadmin.php file. The vulnerability arises from improper sanitization or validation of the 'emailid' parameter, which an attacker can manipulate to inject malicious SQL queries. This flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the backend database without requiring authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability is classified as medium severity with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 6.9, reflecting its network exploitable nature (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The impact vector components indicate limited confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts (VC:L, VI:L, VA:L), suggesting that while the attacker can access or modify some data, the overall system compromise may be constrained. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but public disclosure of the exploit code increases the risk of exploitation. The vulnerability affects a specific version of a niche content management system designed for news portals, which may be used by small to medium-sized organizations for managing news content and administrative users. The lack of available patches or mitigations from the vendor at the time of disclosure further elevates the risk for users of this software version.

For European organizations using the PHPGurukul News Portal Project 4.1, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and integrity of their administrative user data and potentially other sensitive content stored in the backend database. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to extract credentials, modify administrative privileges, or alter news content, undermining trust and operational continuity. Given the remote and unauthenticated nature of the attack, threat actors could leverage this vulnerability to gain footholds in organizational networks, potentially leading to further lateral movement or data breaches. The impact is particularly critical for media organizations, news agencies, or public information portals that rely on this software, as any compromise could lead to misinformation dissemination or reputational damage. Additionally, the vulnerability could be exploited to disrupt service availability by injecting destructive SQL commands, affecting the availability of news content to end-users. European organizations are subject to stringent data protection regulations such as GDPR; thus, any data breach resulting from this vulnerability could lead to regulatory penalties and legal consequences.

Organizations should immediately assess their use of PHPGurukul News Portal Project version 4.1 and plan to upgrade to a patched version once available. In the absence of an official patch, applying input validation and parameterized queries or prepared statements in the /admin/edit-subadmin.php script can mitigate the risk by preventing SQL injection. Web application firewalls (WAFs) configured with rules to detect and block SQL injection attempts targeting the 'emailid' parameter can provide interim protection. Restricting access to the administrative interface through network segmentation, VPNs, or IP whitelisting reduces exposure to remote attackers. Regularly auditing and monitoring database logs for suspicious queries can help detect exploitation attempts early. Additionally, organizations should implement robust backup and recovery procedures to restore data integrity in case of compromise. Security awareness training for administrators managing the portal should emphasize the importance of timely updates and secure coding practices.