dbcve.org
SQL InjectionWeakness · CWE-89

CVE-2025-2074

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to generic SQL Injection via the ‘sSearch’ parameter in all versions up to, and including, 1.29 due to insufficient escaping on the user supplied parameter and lack of sufficient preparation on the existing SQL query. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries, particularly when the plugin’s settings page hasn’t been visited and its welcome message has not been dismissed. This issue can be used to extract sensitive information from the database.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Advanced Google reCAPTCHA WordPress plugin versions up to 1.29 contain a SQL injection vulnerability via the 'sSearch' parameter. Authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access can inject arbitrary SQL queries due to insufficient input escaping and lack of prepared statement usage in the database query, allowing extraction of sensitive data.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to version 1.30 or later which contains the security patch. If immediate updating is not feasible, consider disabling the plugin or restricting subscriber-level access until the patch can be applied.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm plugin installation and version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Advanced Google reCAPTCHA'. Check the version number displayed under the plugin name. Alternatively, inspect the plugin main file header via file system or check wp-content/plugins/advanced-google-recaptcha/readme.txt for the Version field.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and the version is 1.29 or lower.
  2. Verify subscriber-level access is possible
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and review which roles have been assigned the Subscriber role. Also check if any user registration settings allow new users to register with Subscriber-level access.
    Affected if Subscriber-level user accounts exist or can be registered in the WordPress site.
  3. Check if reCAPTCHA protection is active on forms
    Navigate to the plugin settings (Advanced Google reCAPTCHA in admin menu). Review which forms or locations have reCAPTCHA protection enabled. Common locations include login form, registration form, comment form, or custom forms.
    Affected if The plugin has reCAPTCHA enabled on any form that accepts input from Subscriber-level users.
  4. Inspect plugin files for vulnerable code pattern
    Using a file manager or grep search, examine the plugin PHP files for usage of the 'sSearch' parameter in $_REQUEST or $_GET without prepare() calls. Look in files handling search or data table rendering functionality.
    Affected if Code contains direct use of sSearch parameter in SQL queries without prepared statements.

You are affected if the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin is installed at version 1.29 or below AND Subscriber-level users can access forms or features where the plugin's reCAPTCHA is active.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the plugin to version 1.30 or later which contains the security patch. If immediate updating is not feasible, consider disabling the plugin or restricting subscriber-level access until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 1.30 or later of Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin for WordPress

  1. Upgrade the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin for WordPress to version 1.30 or higher
  2. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the plugin version in WordPress admin

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-2074 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-2074 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data