CVE-2025-3107 Overview
CVE-2025-3107 is a time-based SQL injection vulnerability in the Newsletters plugin for WordPress, developed by Tribulant. The flaw affects all versions up to and including 4.9.9.8. The plugin fails to properly escape the orderby parameter and does not sufficiently prepare the underlying SQL query. Authenticated users with Contributor-level access or higher can append additional SQL statements to legitimate queries. Successful exploitation allows attackers to extract sensitive information from the WordPress database, including user credentials, session tokens, and configuration data.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with Contributor privileges can exfiltrate arbitrary database contents through time-based blind SQL injection against the orderby parameter.
Affected Products
- Tribulant Newsletters plugin for WordPress, versions up to and including 4.9.9.8
- Newsletters Lite (newsletters-lite) distribution on the WordPress plugin repository
- WordPress sites permitting Contributor-level or higher account registration
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-13 - CVE-2025-3107 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-3107
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability is classified as SQL Injection [CWE-89]. It resides in the shortcode handler at helpers/shortcode.php in the Newsletters plugin. The orderby parameter flows into a dynamically constructed SQL query without escaping or parameterization. Because the injection point lies in an ORDER BY clause, standard prepared statement placeholders cannot fully mitigate the issue without an allow-list check on column names.
Exploitation requires authentication at Contributor level or above, which is a common privilege tier on multi-author WordPress sites. The confidentiality impact is high because attackers can read the entire database, while integrity and availability are not directly affected by this vector.
Root Cause
The root cause is insufficient input escaping combined with missing SQL query preparation on the orderby request parameter. The vulnerable code path accepts user-controlled ordering input and concatenates it directly into the query string. The fix delivered in changeset 3290691 adds proper validation before the value reaches the database layer.
Attack Vector
An authenticated attacker submits a request to a page rendering the vulnerable Newsletters shortcode. The attacker supplies a crafted orderby value containing time-based blind SQL injection payloads such as conditional SLEEP() calls. The database response delay confirms successful injection and enables byte-by-byte extraction of records from tables including wp_users and wp_options. No user interaction is required beyond initial authentication.
For implementation-level analysis, see the Wordfence Vulnerability Analysis and the WordPress Plugin Shortcode Code.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-3107
Indicators of Compromise
- HTTP requests to WordPress pages containing orderby parameter values with SQL keywords such as SLEEP, BENCHMARK, IF(, CASE WHEN, UNION, or comment sequences like -- and /*
- Web server access logs showing repeated requests from Contributor-level accounts with abnormally long response times
- Unexpected database read latency spikes tied to requests referencing the Newsletters shortcode
- New or dormant Contributor accounts issuing large volumes of parameter-fuzzing requests
Detection Strategies
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall rule matching SQL keywords in the orderby query parameter for URLs invoking the Newsletters plugin
- Alert on WordPress query response times exceeding a baseline threshold when originating from authenticated non-admin sessions
- Correlate authentication logs with request patterns to identify Contributor accounts probing shortcode endpoints
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable MySQL slow query logging and review queries against Newsletters plugin tables
- Forward WordPress access logs and PHP error logs to a central SIEM for retention and correlation
- Track privilege changes and new Contributor account creation events in the WordPress audit trail
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-3107
Immediate Actions Required
- Update the Newsletters plugin to a version released after 4.9.9.8 that includes the fix from changeset 3290691
- Audit all Contributor, Author, and Editor accounts and disable any that are unused or unrecognized
- Rotate WordPress secret keys in wp-config.php and force password resets if compromise is suspected
- Review database access logs for evidence of prior extraction attempts
Patch Information
The vendor addressed the issue in the WordPress Changeset #3290691. The code-level fix is visible in the WordPress Changeset Code Diff. Release notes are available in the Tribulant Plugin Release Notes. Administrators should update through the WordPress plugin dashboard or via WP-CLI.
Workarounds
- Temporarily deactivate the Newsletters plugin until the patched version is installed
- Restrict Contributor-level account creation and require administrator approval for new registrations
- Deploy a WAF rule that blocks or sanitizes orderby parameters containing SQL metacharacters on pages using the Newsletters shortcode
- Remove Newsletters shortcodes from publicly accessible pages if patching cannot be performed immediately
# Update the plugin using WP-CLI
wp plugin update newsletters-lite
# Verify the installed version is greater than 4.9.9.8
wp plugin get newsletters-lite --field=version
# If patching is delayed, deactivate the plugin
wp plugin deactivate newsletters-lite
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
