CVE-2025-30819

Remediation/Mitigation Strategy for CVE-2025-30819: Simple Giveaways SQL Injection

This document outlines the vulnerability, its severity, potential exploits, and a proposed remediation/mitigation strategy for CVE-2025-30819, affecting the Simple Giveaways WordPress plugin.

1. Vulnerability Description:

  • Vulnerability: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command (‘SQL Injection’)
  • Plugin: Simple Giveaways
  • Affected Versions: Versions up to and including 2.48.1
  • Description: The Simple Giveaways plugin is vulnerable to SQL injection. This means an attacker can inject malicious SQL code into queries executed by the plugin. This vulnerability arises from insufficient sanitization or escaping of user-supplied input that is subsequently used in SQL queries. Successful exploitation can allow an attacker to read, modify, or delete sensitive data within the WordPress database.

2. Severity:

  • CVSS Score: 8.5 (High)
  • Severity Level: High
  • Impact: Successful exploitation can lead to:
    • Data Breach: Unauthorized access to sensitive data, including user information, giveaway details, and potentially administrative credentials.
    • Data Modification: Tampering with data within the database, such as giveaway results, user profiles, or even injecting malicious content into the website.
    • Data Deletion: Deleting critical data, potentially disrupting website functionality and leading to data loss.
    • Privilege Escalation: In some scenarios, an attacker might be able to gain administrative access to the WordPress site through the database.
    • Website Defacement: Modifying the website’s content to display malicious or unwanted information.

3. Known Exploits:

While specific exploit details may not be publicly available at this time (as indicated by the “Awaiting Analysis” status), SQL injection vulnerabilities are generally well-understood and exploitable. A potential exploit scenario might involve:

  • Unsanitized Giveaway ID: If the plugin uses a giveaway ID from the URL or a form without proper sanitization in an SQL query, an attacker could inject SQL code into the ID parameter. For example: example.com/giveaway?id=1; DROP TABLE wp_users; --
  • Unsanitized User Input in Forms: If the plugin uses user input from forms (e.g., for contest entries, comments, or registration) without sanitization in SQL queries, an attacker can inject malicious SQL commands.
  • Exploitation via Plugin Settings: If the plugin settings accept user input and these are passed to SQL queries without escaping, an attacker with access to the settings (typically admins) could inject malicious SQL code.

4. Remediation/Mitigation Strategy:

The most effective solution is to update the Simple Giveaways plugin to a version that fixes the SQL injection vulnerability. Consult the plugin developer’s website or the WordPress plugin repository for updated versions. If an update is not available, the following mitigation steps are recommended:

  • Immediate Action: Disable the Plugin (Temporary Solution): As an immediate step to prevent potential exploitation, disable the Simple Giveaways plugin until a patched version is available or alternative mitigation measures are implemented. This will prevent the vulnerable code from being executed.

  • Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF): A WAF can help detect and block SQL injection attempts by analyzing incoming traffic and identifying malicious patterns. Configure the WAF with rules specifically designed to prevent SQL injection attacks. Consider using a WAF like Cloudflare, Sucuri, or ModSecurity.

  • Input Sanitization and Validation: This is a key step for the plugin developer to implement in a future release. All user-supplied input used in SQL queries must be properly sanitized and validated. This includes:

    • Escaping Special Characters: Use database-specific escaping functions (e.g., mysqli_real_escape_string() in PHP with MySQL) to escape special characters that could be interpreted as SQL code.
    • Data Type Validation: Ensure that input values match the expected data type (e.g., integers for IDs, strings for text fields). Reject or sanitize any input that does not conform to the expected format.
    • Prepared Statements (Parameterized Queries): Use prepared statements with parameterized queries to separate SQL code from user data. This is the most secure way to prevent SQL injection because the database treats the data as literal values and not as part of the SQL command.

  • Least Privilege Principle: Ensure that the database user account used by the plugin has only the necessary privileges to perform its functions. Avoid granting the plugin’s database user account excessive permissions (e.g., GRANT ALL).

  • Regular Security Audits: Perform regular security audits of the WordPress site and its plugins to identify and address potential vulnerabilities. Consider using a security scanning tool to automate the audit process.

  • Monitor Database Activity: Monitor database activity for suspicious queries or unusual behavior. This can help detect and respond to potential SQL injection attempts in real-time.

  • Stay Informed: Subscribe to security mailing lists and monitor security advisories from the WordPress community and the Simple Giveaways plugin developer.

5. Follow-Up:

  • Monitor for Plugin Updates: Regularly check for updates to the Simple Giveaways plugin and install them promptly.
  • Re-evaluate Mitigation Strategies: Once a patched version of the plugin is available, re-evaluate the implemented mitigation strategies and remove any temporary workarounds. Focus on keeping the plugin updated to prevent future vulnerabilities.

By implementing these remediation and mitigation strategies, you can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation of the SQL injection vulnerability in the Simple Giveaways plugin and protect your WordPress website from potential attacks. Remember that updating the plugin to a patched version is the most effective and long-term solution.

Assigner

Date

  • Published Date: 2025-03-27 11:15:43
  • Updated Date: 2025-03-27 16:45:12

More Details

CVE-2025-30819