CVE-2025-24587 Overview
CVE-2025-24587 is a blind SQL injection vulnerability in the Nks Email Subscription Popup (email-subscribe) WordPress plugin. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.2.23. It is tracked under [CWE-89] for improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command. An authenticated attacker with high privileges can inject arbitrary SQL statements through the plugin and exfiltrate data from the backend database.
The issue carries a network attack vector and impacts confidentiality across security scopes. The EPSS probability is 32.216% at the 98.094 percentile, indicating elevated likelihood of exploitation activity relative to the broader CVE population.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can perform blind SQL injection against the WordPress database, exposing subscriber data, credentials, and other sensitive site content.
Affected Products
- Nks Email Subscription Popup (email-subscribe) WordPress plugin
- All versions from n/a through 1.2.23
- WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-01-24 - CVE-2025-24587 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-24587
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is a blind SQL injection in the Email Subscription Popup plugin for WordPress. The plugin fails to properly neutralize special characters before incorporating user-supplied input into SQL queries. Because the injection is blind, attackers infer database content through boolean conditions or time delays rather than direct output.
Exploitation requires authenticated access with high privileges, as reflected in the attack complexity and privilege requirements of the CVSS vector. The scope is changed, meaning successful injection affects resources beyond the vulnerable component. Confidentiality impact is high, while integrity is unaffected and availability impact is low.
For practitioners, the injection point resides in a plugin handler that constructs queries against the WordPress database. The Patchstack advisory provides additional context on the affected component.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of parameterized queries or input sanitization when handling user-controlled values passed to the database layer. The plugin concatenates input directly into SQL strings rather than using the $wpdb->prepare() function. This allows attacker-supplied content to alter query structure.
Attack Vector
An authenticated user submits crafted input to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. The input contains SQL clauses such as boolean tests or SLEEP() calls. The server executes the modified query, and the attacker observes response differences or delays to extract data character by character. Refer to the Patchstack vulnerability database entry for affected parameter details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24587
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual HTTP POST or GET requests to email-subscribe plugin endpoints containing SQL metacharacters such as ', --, UNION, SLEEP(, or BENCHMARK(.
- Repeated requests from a single authenticated session with incremental payload variations, consistent with blind SQL injection enumeration.
- Database query log entries showing slow queries originating from plugin handlers.
- Anomalous spikes in response time for requests targeting plugin URLs.
Detection Strategies
- Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL injection signatures on requests to /wp-content/plugins/email-subscribe/ paths.
- Correlate WordPress access logs with authentication events to identify privileged accounts issuing suspicious query patterns.
- Enable MySQL general query logging temporarily to identify malformed or time-based payloads hitting the database.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor authenticated user activity for high-privilege accounts interacting with the subscription plugin.
- Alert on outbound data anomalies that may indicate exfiltration through blind SQL injection.
- Track plugin version inventory across WordPress sites and flag any instance running 1.2.23 or earlier.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24587
Immediate Actions Required
- Disable or deactivate the Email Subscription Popup plugin until a patched version is confirmed installed.
- Audit all administrator and high-privilege accounts for unexpected activity since January 2025.
- Rotate WordPress administrator passwords and database credentials if compromise is suspected.
- Restrict access to the WordPress admin interface using IP allowlisting or multi-factor authentication.
Patch Information
No fixed version is documented in the NVD entry at the time of publication. Affected installations should consult the Patchstack advisory for upstream remediation status and remove the plugin if no patch is available.
Workarounds
- Remove the email-subscribe plugin from the WordPress installation and replace it with a maintained alternative.
- Apply WAF virtual patching rules that block SQL injection payloads targeting the plugin endpoints.
- Restrict database user privileges for the WordPress account to minimize the impact of injection.
- Enforce least privilege on WordPress roles to reduce the population of accounts able to reach the vulnerable code path.
# Configuration example: disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate email-subscribe
wp plugin delete email-subscribe
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
