CVE-2025-24683

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-24683 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability in the WordPress plugin RSVP and Event Management by WP Chill, affecting versions up to and including 2.7.14. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands via improperly neutralized special elements in input fields. With a CVSS score of 7.6, this vulnerability can lead to full database compromise, including extraction of user credentials, session tokens, and sensitive event data. No public exploit code or patch is currently available, making this a high-priority zero-day for WordPress site administrators.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a WordPress plugin distributed via the official WordPress plugin repository. The plugin is not available on NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby ecosystems. However, the risk extends to any site using the plugin, as compromised plugins can be used to inject backdoors into the WordPress supply chain. Administrators should audit their plugin inventory and consider removing the plugin until a patch is released.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component remains the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Full database read access.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – Ability to modify or delete data.
• Availability (A): High (H) – Potential for denial of service via destructive queries.

Threat Level: Critical. The combination of unauthenticated remote exploitation and high impact makes this a top priority for remediation.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands within the RSVP and Event Management plugin. The plugin likely constructs SQL queries by directly concatenating user-supplied input (e.g., from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters) without proper sanitization or parameterized queries.

Attack Vector: An attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to a vulnerable endpoint (e.g., wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or a custom shortcode handler) containing SQL injection payloads in parameters such as event_id, rsvp_id, or action. The injected SQL can be used to:

• Extract usernames and password hashes from the wp_users table.
• Dump all event attendee data.
• Modify or delete database records.
• Potentially gain administrative access by updating user roles.

Example vulnerable code pattern (hypothetical):

$event_id = $_GET['event_id'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM wp_rsvp_events WHERE id = $event_id";
$result = $wpdb->get_results($query);

Root Cause: The plugin fails to use prepared statements or proper escaping functions like $wpdb->prepare().

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (<= 2.7.14):

// No input sanitization
$event_id = $_REQUEST['event_id'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}rsvp_events WHERE id = $event_id";
$results = $wpdb->get_results($query);

Patched Code (hypothetical fix):

// Use prepared statement
$event_id = intval($_REQUEST['event_id']);
$query = $wpdb->prepare(
    "SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}rsvp_events WHERE id = %d",
    $event_id
);
$results = $wpdb->get_results($query);

Key Differences:

• The patched version uses intval() to cast the input to an integer, preventing SQL injection.
• The patched version uses $wpdb->prepare() with a placeholder %d to safely bind the parameter.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress with the RSVP and Event Management plugin version 2.7.14.
2. Create a test event via the admin panel.
3. Identify the vulnerable parameter (e.g., event_id in a shortcode or AJAX handler).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Use sqlmap to automate injection detection:

   sqlmap -u "http://target/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=rsvp_get_event&event_id=1" --batch --dbs
   

2. Manual injection example:

   http://target/?event_id=1 UNION SELECT user_login,user_pass FROM wp_users--
   

3. Extract admin credentials:

   http://target/?event_id=1 UNION SELECT user_login,user_pass FROM wp_users WHERE user_level=10--
   

Note: No public exploit code is available; the above is a generic SQLi approach.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for SQL injection patterns (e.g., UNION, SELECT, FROM, --).
• Use WAF rules to block suspicious query strings.
• Enable WordPress audit logging to track plugin activity.

Mitigation:

• Immediately disable the plugin if no patch is available.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection rules.
• Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php via IP whitelisting if possible.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• HTTP requests containing SQL keywords in GET/POST parameters (e.g., UNION, SELECT, 1=1).
• Unusual database error messages in HTTP responses (e.g., "You have an error in your SQL syntax").

File IOCs:

• Modified plugin files (check file integrity via checksums).
• Unexpected files in wp-content/uploads/ or wp-content/plugins/rsvp/.

Log IOCs:

• Repeated failed login attempts after SQL injection (credential stuffing).
• Database queries with abnormal patterns in MySQL slow query log.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_24683_SQLi_WordPress {
    meta:
        description = "Detects SQL injection attempts targeting RSVP and Event Management plugin"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-24683"
    strings:
        $sqli1 = "UNION SELECT" nocase
        $sqli2 = "1=1" nocase
        $sqli3 = "wp_users" nocase
        $sqli4 = "event_id=" nocase
    condition:
        any of ($sqli*) and #sqli4 > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: SQL Injection Attempt Against RSVP Plugin
id: 8f7a3b2c-1d4e-5f6a-7b8c-9d0e1f2a3b4c
status: experimental
description: Detects SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests targeting the RSVP and Event Management plugin
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        c-uri|contains:
            - 'event_id='
            - 'rsvp_id='
        c-uri|contains|all:
            - 'UNION'
            - 'SELECT'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of UNION in custom queries (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-24683 SQL Injection Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"event_id="; http_uri; content:"UNION"; http_uri; content:"SELECT"; http_uri; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the plugin until a patch is released by WP Chill.
2. Apply virtual patching via WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns.
3. Audit database for unauthorized changes or new admin users.

Long-term Fix:

• Monitor the WP Chill plugin repository for an update (version > 2.7.14).
• Replace the plugin with an alternative if no patch is provided within 30 days.
• Implement a WordPress security plugin (e.g., Wordfence) with SQL injection protection.

Valters IT Signature: This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. For questions, contact security@valters-it.com.