CVE-2025-9656VulnerabilityPublished 29 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-9656: PHPGurukul Directory Management System · Cross Site Scripting

Affects PHPGurukul Directory Management SystemSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Passive
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: POC

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Passive: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires limited interaction by the targeted user with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload. These interactions would be considered involuntary and do not require that the user actively subvert protections built into the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Exploit Maturity: POC: Based on threat intelligence sources each of the following must apply: · Proof-of-concept is publicly available · No knowledge of reported attempts to exploit this vulnerability · No knowledge of publicly available solutions used to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PHPGurukul Directory Management System	Affected =2.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediate mitigation should include implementing strict input validation and output encoding on the 'fullname' parameter within /admin/add-directory.php to neutralize any injected scripts. 2. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in the browser context. 3. Restrict access to the admin interface by IP whitelisting or VPN access to reduce exposure. 4. Monitor web server logs for suspicious requests targeting the vulnerable parameter. 5. Educate administrative users about the risks of clicking on untrusted links or submitting unverified inputs. 6. If possible, temporarily disable or restrict the add-directory functionality until a patch is released. 7. Regularly check for official patches or updates from PHPGurukul and apply them as soon as they become available. 8. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with rules to detect and block common XSS payloads targeting this parameter.

Description

A security vulnerability has been detected in PHPGurukul Directory Management System 2.0. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /admin/add-directory.php. The manipulation of the argument fullname leads to cross site scripting. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used.

Impact

For European organizations using PHPGurukul Directory Management System 2.0, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to administrative users who access the /admin/add-directory.php interface. Successful exploitation could lead to session hijacking or unauthorized actions performed under the context of an admin user, potentially compromising directory data integrity. This could disrupt internal directory management processes, leading to operational inefficiencies or data manipulation. While the vulnerability does not directly impact confidentiality or availability, the injected scripts could be used as a foothold for further attacks or social engineering campaigns. Given the administrative nature of the affected page, organizations with sensitive directory data or those relying heavily on this system for internal user or resource management are at higher risk. The medium severity suggests that while urgent, the threat is not critical, but should be addressed promptly to prevent exploitation, especially as the exploit code is publicly available.

Summary

CVE-2025-9656 is a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in version 2.0 of the PHPGurukul Directory Management System. The vulnerability resides in the /admin/add-directory.php file, specifically in the handling of the 'fullname' parameter. An attacker can remotely manipulate this parameter to inject malicious scripts, which are then executed in the context of the victim's browser. This type of vulnerability allows attackers to perform actions such as session hijacking, defacement, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The vulnerability does not require authentication or privileges, and no user interaction is strictly necessary beyond visiting a crafted URL or submitting a malicious payload. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 5.3, indicating a medium severity level, with the vector showing network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction is needed. The impact on confidentiality is none, integrity is low, and availability is none, meaning the primary risk is to the integrity of user sessions or data via script injection. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the public disclosure of the exploit code increases the risk of exploitation. No official patches or mitigation links are provided yet, so organizations must rely on other defensive measures until an update is available.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 29 Aug 2025, 16:03 UTC

Technical details

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