CVE-2025-39389: AnalyticsWP SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-39389 Overview

CVE-2025-39389 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the AnalyticsWP WordPress plugin developed by Solid Plugins. This vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL statements into the application's database queries. The flaw affects all versions of AnalyticsWP from initial release through version 2.1.2.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this SQL Injection vulnerability to extract sensitive data from the WordPress database, potentially compromising user credentials, personal information, and site configuration details.

Affected Products

• AnalyticsWP WordPress Plugin versions up to and including 2.1.2
• WordPress installations running vulnerable AnalyticsWP versions
• Any website utilizing AnalyticsWP for analytics functionality

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-19 - CVE-2025-39389 published to NVD
• 2025-05-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-39389

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) exists due to insufficient input validation and sanitization within the AnalyticsWP plugin. The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate SQL queries executed against the WordPress database by injecting malicious SQL syntax through user-controllable input fields.

The attack can be performed remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible WordPress installations. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive database contents, including user credentials, analytics data, and potentially other information stored within the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to properly sanitize and escape user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. WordPress provides several built-in functions for secure database interactions, including prepared statements via $wpdb->prepare(), but the vulnerable code paths in AnalyticsWP versions through 2.1.2 do not adequately utilize these protections.

When user input containing SQL metacharacters (such as single quotes, double quotes, or SQL keywords) is passed directly into database queries without proper escaping, attackers can break out of the intended query context and execute arbitrary SQL commands.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable via network-based attacks (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L). No privileges are required (PR:N) and no user interaction is needed (UI:N) to exploit this flaw. The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerable component impacts resources beyond its security scope.

Attackers can craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads targeting vulnerable parameters within the AnalyticsWP plugin. These payloads are designed to extract data from the database (high confidentiality impact) and potentially cause limited service disruption (low availability impact).

The attack methodology typically involves:

1. Identifying vulnerable input parameters within the AnalyticsWP plugin endpoints
2. Crafting SQL injection payloads to test for vulnerability presence
3. Using techniques such as UNION-based, blind, or time-based SQL injection to extract data
4. Exfiltrating sensitive database contents including user tables and configuration data

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack SQL Injection Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-39389

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database queries in WordPress database logs containing SQL injection patterns such as UNION SELECT, OR 1=1, or encoded SQL syntax
• Unexpected HTTP requests to AnalyticsWP plugin endpoints with abnormal parameter values
• Web application firewall (WAF) alerts indicating SQL injection attempts targeting WordPress installations
• Database error messages appearing in web server logs that indicate malformed SQL queries

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules specifically designed to detect SQL injection patterns in requests to WordPress plugin endpoints
• Enable WordPress database query logging and monitor for anomalous query patterns indicative of SQL injection exploitation
• Implement intrusion detection system (IDS) signatures to identify SQL injection attack traffic targeting AnalyticsWP
• Use WordPress security plugins that scan for known vulnerable plugin versions and alert administrators

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor web server access logs for requests containing common SQL injection characters and keywords (', ", UNION, SELECT, DROP, etc.)
• Set up alerting for failed database queries that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Implement rate limiting on plugin endpoints to detect and throttle automated exploitation attempts
• Regularly audit installed WordPress plugins against vulnerability databases to identify at-risk installations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-39389

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all WordPress installations running AnalyticsWP plugin version 2.1.2 or earlier
• Disable or deactivate the AnalyticsWP plugin immediately if a patched version is not available
• Review database logs for signs of prior exploitation and conduct forensic analysis if suspicious activity is detected
• Implement WAF rules to block SQL injection attempts while awaiting a permanent fix

Patch Information

Administrators should check for updated versions of the AnalyticsWP plugin through the WordPress plugin repository or the vendor's official channels. Update to the latest available version that addresses this SQL injection vulnerability. Refer to the Patchstack Advisory for the most current remediation guidance.

If no patched version is available, consider removing the plugin entirely and seeking alternative analytics solutions until a security update is released.

Workarounds

• Deactivate and remove the AnalyticsWP plugin from WordPress installations until a patched version is available
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with SQL injection protection rules to filter malicious requests
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and plugin endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Implement database user permissions following the principle of least privilege to limit potential damage from SQL injection attacks

# WordPress CLI command to deactivate AnalyticsWP plugin
wp plugin deactivate analyticswp --allow-root

# Verify plugin is deactivated
wp plugin list --status=inactive --allow-root | grep analyticswp