CVE-2025-26971: Ays-pro Poll Maker SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2025-26971 Overview

CVE-2025-26971 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the ays-pro Poll Maker plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to perform Blind SQL Injection attacks against websites running vulnerable versions of the plugin. The flaw stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, enabling attackers to manipulate database queries and potentially extract sensitive information, modify data, or compromise the entire WordPress installation.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands against the WordPress database, potentially leading to complete site compromise, data theft, and unauthorized administrative access.

Affected Products

• ays-pro Poll Maker plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 5.6.5
• WordPress installations running the free version of Poll Maker (cpe:2.3:a:ays-pro:poll_maker:*:*:*:*:free:wordpress:*:*)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-25 - CVE-2025-26971 published to NVD
• 2025-05-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-26971

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). The vulnerability exists in the Poll Maker plugin, which fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. This allows attackers to inject malicious SQL code that gets executed by the database server.

The Blind SQL Injection nature of this vulnerability means that attackers cannot directly see the results of their injected queries in the application's response. Instead, they must infer information based on application behavior, timing differences, or conditional responses. Despite this limitation, skilled attackers can methodically extract database contents, including user credentials, session tokens, and other sensitive data stored in the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to properly sanitize, validate, or parameterize user input before including it in SQL queries within the Poll Maker plugin. WordPress provides built-in functions like $wpdb->prepare() for creating safe parameterized queries, but the vulnerable code paths in Poll Maker versions through 5.6.5 do not adequately utilize these protections.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. Attackers can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints. The Blind SQL Injection technique typically involves:

1. Sending crafted requests with conditional SQL statements
2. Observing differences in response time or content
3. Using boolean-based or time-based inference to extract data character by character
4. Building up complete database records through iterative queries

This attack methodology allows for complete database enumeration including WordPress user tables, potentially exposing administrator credentials and enabling full site takeover.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-26971

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns in MySQL/MariaDB slow query logs, particularly those containing SQL injection signatures like SLEEP(), BENCHMARK(), or WAITFOR DELAY
• HTTP access logs showing repeated requests to Poll Maker plugin endpoints with suspicious URL parameters or POST data
• Unexpected database performance degradation that could indicate time-based SQL injection probing
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database access in audit logs

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common SQL injection patterns targeting WordPress plugins
• Implement database activity monitoring to alert on anomalous query patterns, especially queries with time delays or boolean conditions
• Monitor WordPress plugin endpoints for requests containing SQL metacharacters such as single quotes, double dashes, UNION, SELECT, or OR 1=1
• Enable detailed logging on the web server and database to capture forensic evidence of exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure real-time alerting for SQL injection attempt signatures in web application logs
• Establish baseline metrics for database query performance to detect time-based injection attacks
• Implement integrity monitoring for WordPress database tables, particularly wp_users and wp_options
• Review web server access logs regularly for reconnaissance patterns targeting the Poll Maker plugin

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-26971

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Poll Maker plugin to a version newer than 5.6.5 immediately if a patched version is available
• If no patch is available, consider temporarily disabling the Poll Maker plugin until a fix is released
• Implement Web Application Firewall rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting Poll Maker endpoints
• Review WordPress database for signs of compromise or unauthorized modifications
• Reset all WordPress user passwords, especially administrator accounts, if compromise is suspected

Patch Information

Website administrators should check for plugin updates through the WordPress admin dashboard or visit the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Advisory for detailed information about this vulnerability and available fixes. Ensure you are running a version higher than 5.6.5 to be protected against this SQL Injection vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Temporarily deactivate the Poll Maker plugin if updating is not immediately possible
• Deploy WAF rules to filter requests containing SQL injection payloads before they reach the WordPress application
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area and plugin endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Implement database-level access controls to limit the WordPress database user's privileges to the minimum necessary
• Enable WordPress security plugins that provide SQL injection protection as an additional defense layer

# Example: Restrict access to Poll Maker plugin endpoints via .htaccess
# Add to WordPress .htaccess file as temporary mitigation

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    # Block suspicious SQL injection patterns in query strings
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (\%27|\'|union|select|insert|drop|delete|update|concat|benchmark|sleep) [NC]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} poll-maker [NC]
    RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>