dbcve.org
SQL InjectionWeakness · CWE-89

CVE-2025-23912

HIGH · 8.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in Philipp Speck WordPress Custom Sidebar wordpress-custom-sidebar allows Blind SQL Injection.This issue affects WordPress Custom Sidebar: from n/a through <= 2.3.

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 · moderate confidence

A blind SQL injection vulnerability exists in the WordPress Custom Sidebar plugin (versions <= 2.3) by Philipp Speck. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious SQL queries through unsanitized input parameters, potentially enabling data exfiltration or database manipulation. As a blind SQLi, attackers infer information from application behavior differences rather than direct error output.

MitigationUpdate WordPress Custom Sidebar to the latest patched version. If no update is available, disable the plugin until a fix is released. Additionally, implement WAF rules to detect and block SQL injection attempts as a temporary protective measure.

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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. Locate the WordPress Custom Sidebar plugin files
    Navigate to wp-content/plugins/ in your WordPress installation directory and look for a folder named 'custom-sidebar', 'custom-sidebar-plugin', or similar naming by Philipp Speck
    Affected if The plugin folder is not found in the expected plugins directory
  2. Identify the plugin version from the main plugin file
    Open the main PHP file in the plugin folder (commonly the folder name with .php extension) and look for the 'Version:' field in the plugin header comment block at the top of the file
    Affected if The Version field shows 2.3 or lower, or if no version is declared and the author matches Philipp Speck
  3. Verify the plugin is active
    In the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and check if Custom Sidebar is listed as active
    Affected if The plugin shows as active on the site
  4. Check if the site processes user input through the plugin
    Review any public-facing forms, widgets, or shortcodes provided by the plugin that accept user input. This vulnerability is triggered when unsanitized parameters are passed to the plugin
    Affected if The plugin has any public-facing input mechanisms (forms, widgets, AJAX endpoints, or URL parameters) that interact with the database

You are affected if the Custom Sidebar plugin by Philipp Speck is installed, active, and running version 2.3 or lower, as the blind SQL injection vulnerability exists in how the plugin processes unsanitized input parameters.

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 WordPress Custom Sidebar to the latest patched version. If no update is available, disable the plugin until a fix is released. Additionally, implement WAF rules to detect and block SQL injection attempts as a temporary protective measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 2.4 or later

  1. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins
  2. Locate 'WordPress Custom Sidebar' (wordpress-custom-sidebar) in the plugin list
  3. If the plugin shows an available update, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version
  4. Alternatively, manually download the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  5. After updating, verify the plugin version is 2.4 or higher

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2025-23912 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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