CVE-2025-5590: Owl Carousel WordPress Plugin SQLi Flaw

CVE-2025-5590 Overview

CVE-2025-5590 is a time-based SQL injection vulnerability in the Owl Carousel Responsive plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.9. It originates from insufficient escaping of the id parameter and inadequate preparation of the underlying SQL query in query/db_gallery.php. Authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher can append additional SQL clauses to existing queries. Successful exploitation enables extraction of sensitive information from the WordPress database, including user credentials and secret keys. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).

Critical Impact
Authenticated contributors can execute arbitrary SQL queries against the WordPress database, leading to disclosure of password hashes, session tokens, and other sensitive content stored in wp_users, wp_usermeta, and wp_options.

Affected Products

Owl Carousel Responsive WordPress plugin (slug: responsive-owl-carousel)
All versions up to and including 1.9
WordPress sites permitting Contributor-level or higher accounts

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-26 - CVE-2025-5590 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5590

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the database query logic of the Owl Carousel Responsive plugin, specifically in query/db_gallery.php around line 57. The plugin accepts an id value from a user-controlled request context and concatenates it directly into an SQL statement. Because the parameter is neither cast to an integer nor passed through $wpdb->prepare() with a numeric placeholder, an attacker can inject SQL syntax that the MySQL backend executes alongside the intended query.

The injection is time-based, meaning the attacker uses payloads such as SLEEP() or conditional delay functions to infer database contents from response latency. Time-based techniques remain effective even when the application suppresses error messages and does not return query results in the HTTP response. The vulnerability falls under CWE-89 and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress database.

Root Cause

The root cause is the combination of two coding errors: the id parameter is not sanitized or type-cast before use, and the SQL string is built through concatenation rather than parameterized queries. WordPress provides $wpdb->prepare() with placeholders such as %d and %s for safe query construction, but the affected code path bypasses this mechanism. See the WordPress Plugin Code Review for the vulnerable function.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an authenticated WordPress account with at least Contributor privileges. The attacker submits a crafted id parameter containing SQL syntax to the plugin endpoint that invokes the vulnerable query function. The injected payload uses boolean conditions combined with timing functions to extract data character by character. No user interaction beyond the attacker's own session is required, and the attack is delivered over the network. Refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5590

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP requests targeting plugin endpoints with id parameter values containing SQL keywords such as SLEEP, BENCHMARK, UNION, SELECT, AND, or OR.
Web server access logs showing unusually long response times for requests referencing the responsive-owl-carousel plugin.
Database query logs containing malformed or concatenated SQL statements with conditional time delays.
New or unexpected Contributor-level WordPress accounts created prior to suspicious request bursts.

Detection Strategies

Inspect WordPress access logs for requests to plugin handlers with non-numeric values in the id parameter.
Enable MySQL slow query logging and review entries containing SLEEP( or BENCHMARK( function calls.
Deploy a web application firewall ruleset that flags SQL injection signatures targeting id query parameters.
Correlate authenticated session activity with anomalous query latency on the WordPress database host.

Monitoring Recommendations

Continuously monitor outbound traffic from the WordPress host for data exfiltration following Contributor logins.
Alert on repeated requests from a single authenticated session to plugin endpoints within short time windows.
Track changes to wp_users and wp_options tables to identify post-exploitation tampering.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5590

Immediate Actions Required

Disable or uninstall the Owl Carousel Responsive plugin until a patched release is available and verified.
Audit all WordPress accounts and remove or downgrade unused Contributor, Author, or Editor accounts.
Rotate WordPress secret keys in wp-config.php and force password resets for all users if exploitation is suspected.
Restrict access to /wp-admin/ by IP address where operationally feasible.

Patch Information

At the time of NVD publication, no fixed version of the Owl Carousel Responsive plugin is listed for CVE-2025-5590. Consult the WordPress Plugin Developer Info page for the latest release notes and apply any vendor-issued update that explicitly addresses this SQL injection.

Workarounds

Place a web application firewall rule in front of WordPress that blocks non-integer values in the id parameter to the plugin's endpoints.
Revoke Contributor and higher privileges from accounts that do not require content submission capabilities.
Apply a virtual patch via security plugins that filter SQL metacharacters from query parameters used by responsive-owl-carousel.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block non-numeric id values targeting the plugin
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains responsive-owl-carousel" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1005590,msg:'CVE-2025-5590 SQLi attempt'"
    SecRule ARGS:id "!@rx ^[0-9]+$" "t:none"