CVE-2025-14973: Recipe Card Blocks Lite SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-14973 Overview

The Recipe Card Blocks Lite WordPress plugin before version 3.4.13 contains a SQL Injection vulnerability due to insufficient input sanitization. The vulnerability allows authenticated users with contributor-level permissions or higher to inject malicious SQL commands through an unsanitized parameter, potentially enabling unauthorized database access and data exfiltration.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with contributor privileges can exploit this SQL injection vulnerability to extract sensitive database information, potentially compromising user credentials, personal data, and other confidential information stored in the WordPress database.

Affected Products

• Recipe Card Blocks Lite WordPress plugin versions prior to 3.4.13
• WordPress installations with Recipe Card Blocks Lite plugin installed
• Sites allowing contributor-level user registration

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-26 - CVE-2025-14973 published to NVD
• 2026-01-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-14973

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (SQL Injection), a critical class of web application security flaws where user-supplied input is incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization or parameterization. In the case of Recipe Card Blocks Lite, the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape a parameter before incorporating it into a SQL statement.

The attack requires network access and authenticated privileges at the contributor level or above. While the required privileges limit the attack surface somewhat, WordPress sites commonly allow contributor registrations, making this vulnerability exploitable in many real-world configurations. The scope is changed, meaning a successful exploit can affect resources beyond the vulnerable component—specifically, the underlying database and all data it contains.

The primary impact is on confidentiality, as attackers can extract sensitive information from the database. This could include user credentials, email addresses, personal information, and any other data stored in the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation and lack of parameterized queries. The plugin directly incorporates user-controlled input into SQL statements without proper sanitization or escaping. This allows attackers to break out of the intended query structure and inject their own SQL commands.

WordPress provides built-in functions such as $wpdb->prepare() for safely constructing SQL queries with user input. The vulnerable code path in Recipe Card Blocks Lite failed to utilize these protective mechanisms, leaving the parameter vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network against the WordPress installation. An attacker must first authenticate to the WordPress site with at least contributor-level privileges. Once authenticated, the attacker can craft malicious requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the vulnerable parameter.

The exploitation process typically involves:

1. Authenticating to the WordPress site with contributor or higher privileges
2. Identifying the vulnerable endpoint and parameter
3. Crafting SQL injection payloads to extract database information
4. Iteratively querying the database to exfiltrate sensitive data

Since no user interaction is required beyond the initial authentication, this vulnerability can be exploited programmatically once valid credentials are obtained. For detailed technical information, see the WPScan Vulnerability Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-14973

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database queries in WordPress logs containing UNION, SELECT, or other SQL keywords in unexpected parameters
• Authentication attempts from unknown IP addresses followed by requests to Recipe Card Blocks endpoints
• Error messages in logs indicating SQL syntax errors or database connection issues
• Unexpected data access patterns in database audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web application firewall (WAF) logs for SQL injection patterns targeting Recipe Card Blocks plugin endpoints
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect unauthorized SELECT queries or data extraction attempts
• Review WordPress access logs for suspicious requests containing SQL metacharacters in parameters
• Deploy intrusion detection rules to identify common SQL injection payloads in HTTP traffic

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable and regularly review WordPress debug logs for database-related errors
• Configure alerts for high-volume database read operations from web application users
• Implement rate limiting on authenticated API endpoints to slow down automated exploitation
• Monitor for new contributor-level user registrations that may indicate attacker account creation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-14973

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Recipe Card Blocks Lite plugin to version 3.4.13 or later immediately
• Review contributor and author user accounts for any suspicious or unknown users
• Audit database access logs for evidence of prior exploitation
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin until the update can be applied

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in Recipe Card Blocks Lite version 3.4.13. Site administrators should update to this version or later through the WordPress plugin update mechanism. The patch implements proper input sanitization and parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks.

For more information about this vulnerability and the fix, refer to the WPScan Vulnerability Advisory.

Workarounds

• Restrict user registration to prevent untrusted users from obtaining contributor access
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules
• Remove contributor-level privileges from untrusted users until the plugin is updated
• Consider using a WordPress security plugin that provides SQL injection protection

# Check current Recipe Card Blocks Lite version via WP-CLI
wp plugin list --name=recipe-card-blocks-lite --fields=name,version,update_version

# Update the plugin to the patched version
wp plugin update recipe-card-blocks-lite

# Verify the update was successful
wp plugin get recipe-card-blocks-lite --field=version