CVE-2025-12750 Overview
CVE-2025-12750 is a SQL Injection vulnerability in the Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 4.2.6.1. The plugin fails to properly escape the term parameter and does not adequately prepare the affected SQL query. Authenticated attackers holding Administrator-level access or above can append additional SQL statements to existing queries. This behavior enables extraction of sensitive information from the underlying WordPress database.
Critical Impact
Authenticated administrators can leverage the term parameter to inject arbitrary SQL and exfiltrate database contents, including user credentials and other sensitive records. [CWE-89]
Affected Products
- Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation plugin for WordPress
- All versions up to and including 4.2.6.1
- WordPress installations running the vulnerable plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-11-21 - CVE-2025-12750 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-12750
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the Groundhogg plugin's handling of the user-supplied term parameter. The plugin passes the parameter into a database query without sufficient escaping or use of prepared statements. As a result, attacker-supplied SQL fragments concatenate directly into the existing query. The related code path can be reviewed in the plugin source at Groundhogg functions.php line 5705.
Exploitation requires an authenticated session with Administrator privileges or higher. While the privilege requirement narrows the attacker pool, it remains meaningful in multi-admin environments, managed service provider deployments, and scenarios involving compromised administrator credentials. The confidentiality impact is high because injected queries can read arbitrary database contents. Integrity and availability are not directly affected by this specific issue.
Root Cause
The root cause is insufficient input sanitization combined with the absence of parameterized queries. WordPress provides $wpdb->prepare() for safe query construction, but the affected code path concatenates the term parameter into the SQL string without using placeholders. This is a classic [CWE-89] Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in an SQL Command pattern.
Attack Vector
An authenticated administrator sends a crafted HTTP request containing SQL syntax within the term parameter to the vulnerable Groundhogg endpoint. Because the query lacks proper preparation, the injected clauses execute against the WordPress database. Attackers typically use UNION-based or stacked query techniques to enumerate tables and extract rows from wp_users, wp_usermeta, and Groundhogg contact tables. Refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12750
Indicators of Compromise
- Web server access logs containing SQL syntax such as UNION SELECT, SLEEP(, or INFORMATION_SCHEMA within requests carrying the term parameter to Groundhogg endpoints.
- Unusual outbound data transfers following administrator-authenticated requests to Groundhogg admin URLs.
- Anomalous administrator sessions initiating repeated search or autocomplete requests with encoded payloads.
Detection Strategies
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) rule that inspects the term parameter for SQL metacharacters and common injection tokens.
- Enable WordPress database query logging and alert on queries that reference information_schema or contain UNION clauses originating from plugin code.
- Review Groundhogg plugin version inventory across WordPress sites and flag any installation at 4.2.6.1 or earlier.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor administrator account activity for unusual API or admin-ajax calls to Groundhogg endpoints.
- Alert on new administrator account creation and privilege changes in WordPress.
- Correlate WordPress audit logs with database logs to identify query patterns inconsistent with normal plugin behavior.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12750
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Groundhogg plugin to the patched version above 4.2.6.1 as published in the WordPress plugin changeset.
- Audit all WordPress administrator accounts and rotate credentials for any account that may have been compromised.
- Review recent database access logs for signs of prior exploitation.
Patch Information
The vendor addressed the flaw in a release subsequent to 4.2.6.1. The fix introduces proper escaping and query preparation for the term parameter. Site administrators should apply the update through the WordPress plugin management interface or via WP-CLI as soon as possible.
Workarounds
- Restrict administrator access to trusted personnel only and enforce multi-factor authentication on all administrator accounts.
- Deploy WAF rules that block SQL injection payloads targeting the Groundhogg term parameter until the patch can be applied.
- Temporarily deactivate the Groundhogg plugin if patching is delayed and the CRM functionality is not business-critical.
# Update the Groundhogg plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin update groundhogg
# Verify installed version is above 4.2.6.1
wp plugin get groundhogg --field=version
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
