CVE-2025-10587: WordPress Community Events SQL Injection

CVE-2025-10587 Overview

The Community Events plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the event_category parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.5.1. This vulnerability stems from insufficient escaping on the user-supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. Attackers with authenticated access at the Subscriber level or above can append additional SQL queries into existing queries, enabling extraction of sensitive information from the database.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with minimal privileges (Subscriber-level) can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database, potentially including user credentials, personal information, and other confidential site data.

Affected Products

• Community Events plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 1.5.1
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of the Community Events plugin

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-10-08 - CVE-2025-10587 published to NVD
• 2025-10-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-10587

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists in the Community Events plugin for WordPress, specifically in how the plugin handles the event_category parameter. The vulnerability allows authenticated users with Subscriber-level privileges or higher to manipulate database queries by injecting malicious SQL code through the improperly sanitized parameter.

The core issue lies in the plugin's failure to properly escape and prepare user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This is a classic SQL Injection pattern where user input is concatenated directly into SQL statements without adequate sanitization or parameterized query usage.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is twofold:

1. Insufficient Input Escaping: The event_category parameter lacks proper escaping before being used in database operations
2. Lack of Prepared Statements: The existing SQL query does not utilize WordPress's prepared statement mechanisms (such as $wpdb->prepare()) to safely handle user input

This combination allows attackers to break out of the intended query context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires authentication at the Subscriber level or higher. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Authenticating to the WordPress site with at least Subscriber privileges
2. Crafting a malicious request containing SQL injection payloads in the event_category parameter
3. Submitting the request to the vulnerable endpoint
4. Extracting sensitive database contents through the manipulated query responses

The vulnerability can be leveraged for data exfiltration, including extraction of user credentials, email addresses, and other sensitive information stored in the WordPress database. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report and the WordPress Plugin Code Review.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-10587

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in WordPress logs, particularly involving the event_category parameter
• Multiple failed or unusual authentication attempts followed by requests to Community Events plugin endpoints
• Database error messages appearing in application logs indicating malformed SQL queries
• Unexpected data access patterns from low-privilege user accounts (Subscriber level)

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect SQL injection patterns in the event_category parameter
• Monitor WordPress database query logs for anomalous query structures or UNION-based injection attempts
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity to detect suspicious process behavior and data exfiltration attempts
• Review access logs for repeated requests to Community Events plugin endpoints with unusual parameter values

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for all database queries in WordPress development/staging environments
• Configure real-time alerting for SQL syntax errors or injection attempt signatures
• Monitor user account activity for Subscriber-level accounts accessing sensitive plugin functionality
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect bulk data extraction attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-10587

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Community Events plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Audit database access logs for any signs of exploitation
• Review and rotate database credentials if compromise is suspected
• Temporarily disable the Community Events plugin if immediate patching is not possible
• Consider restricting Subscriber-level account creation until the patch is applied

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in a subsequent release. Administrators should update to the latest version available through the WordPress plugin repository. The fix can be reviewed in the WordPress Plugin Changeset which implements proper input sanitization and prepared statements. The patched version is available from the WordPress Community Events Plugin page.

Workarounds

• Disable the Community Events plugin until a patch can be applied
• Implement WAF rules to block SQL injection patterns targeting the event_category parameter
• Restrict access to plugin functionality by limiting user registration or demoting unnecessary Subscriber accounts
• Use a security plugin to add additional input validation layers to WordPress forms and parameters

# Configuration example - Disable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate community-events

# Verify plugin is disabled
wp plugin list --status=inactive | grep community-events

# Update to latest version when patch is available
wp plugin update community-events