CVE-2025-69338: Riode Core SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-69338 Overview

CVE-2025-69338 is a critical Blind SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the Riode Core plugin (riode-core) for WordPress, developed by don-themes. This vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands (CWE-89), allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL queries through the vulnerable plugin. The blind nature of this SQL injection means attackers can extract sensitive database information through inference-based techniques without direct output visibility.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this blind SQL injection to extract sensitive data from WordPress databases, potentially compromising user credentials, site configurations, and other confidential information stored in the database.

Affected Products

• Riode Core plugin for WordPress versions up to and including 1.6.26
• WordPress installations using the vulnerable Riode Core plugin
• Websites utilizing Riode theme ecosystem with riode-core component

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-05 - CVE-2025-69338 published to NVD
• 2026-03-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-69338

Vulnerability Analysis

This SQL Injection vulnerability exists within the Riode Core WordPress plugin and can be exploited remotely without authentication. The attack is network-accessible, requires no special privileges, and does not depend on user interaction, making it highly exploitable. The vulnerability has a changed scope, meaning successful exploitation can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component itself—in this case, potentially affecting the entire WordPress database and related services.

The primary impact is to data confidentiality, as attackers can extract sensitive database contents. Additionally, there is potential for limited availability impact, which could manifest as database performance degradation during exploitation attempts or through malicious queries that affect database operations.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from inadequate input sanitization in the Riode Core plugin. User-supplied input is incorporated into SQL queries without proper validation, escaping, or use of parameterized queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary SQL syntax that gets executed by the database engine. WordPress provides secure database interaction methods through the $wpdb class with prepared statements, but the vulnerable code paths in riode-core fail to utilize these protections.

Attack Vector

The exploitation occurs over the network and targets WordPress sites running the vulnerable Riode Core plugin. Attackers craft malicious HTTP requests containing SQL injection payloads that are processed by vulnerable plugin functionality. Since this is a blind SQL injection, the attacker cannot directly see query results but can infer information through:

• Boolean-based techniques: observing different application responses based on true/false conditions
• Time-based techniques: measuring response delays caused by injected SQL SLEEP() or BENCHMARK() functions
• Error-based techniques: analyzing database error messages if exposed

Automated tools such as sqlmap can efficiently exploit blind SQL injection vulnerabilities to dump database contents, including WordPress user tables containing password hashes and email addresses.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-69338

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual database query patterns or slow query logs showing suspicious SQL syntax
• Web access logs containing SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, SLEEP(), BENCHMARK(), or encoded variants in request parameters
• Anomalous response times on specific WordPress pages utilizing Riode Core functionality
• Failed login attempts or password reset requests for multiple users following SQL extraction

Detection Strategies

• Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in HTTP requests
• Monitor WordPress database logs for unusual query syntax or unauthorized data access patterns
• Implement SentinelOne Singularity XDR for endpoint detection of post-exploitation activities
• Configure intrusion detection systems to alert on common SQL injection evasion techniques

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for WordPress database queries and review for anomalies
• Set up alerts for high-frequency requests to endpoints associated with the Riode Core plugin
• Monitor for unauthorized access to sensitive database tables such as wp_users and wp_options
• Track file system changes that may indicate webshell deployment following database compromise

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-69338

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Riode Core plugin to a patched version as soon as one becomes available from the vendor
• Temporarily deactivate the Riode Core plugin if it is not essential to site functionality
• Deploy WAF rules to block SQL injection attempts targeting the affected plugin
• Review WordPress database logs and access logs for signs of prior exploitation
• Rotate all WordPress user passwords, especially administrator accounts

Patch Information

Organizations should monitor the Patchstack SQL Injection Advisory for updates regarding official patches. Until a patch is available, implement compensating controls as described in the workarounds section. Verify the plugin version by checking wp-content/plugins/riode-core/riode-core.php or through the WordPress admin plugins page.

Workarounds

• Deactivate the Riode Core plugin until an official security update is released
• Implement WAF rules to filter and block requests containing SQL injection patterns targeting the plugin
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and plugin endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Consider using a virtual patching solution such as Patchstack or Wordfence to mitigate the vulnerability at the application layer

# WordPress CLI command to deactivate riode-core plugin
wp plugin deactivate riode-core

# Check current plugin version
wp plugin get riode-core --field=version

# List all installed plugins and their status for security audit
wp plugin list --status=active --format=table