SQL InjectionWeakness · CWE-89

CVE-2025-26886

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
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 PublishPress PublishPress Authors publishpress-authors allows SQL Injection.This issue affects PublishPress Authors: from n/a through <= 4.7.3.

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 · high confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in PublishPress Authors WordPress plugin allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands through unsanitized input that gets incorporated into database queries. The flaw exists in versions through 4.7.3 and could allow unauthorized data extraction or modification.

MitigationUpdate PublishPress Authors to the latest version after patches are released, or apply parameterized queries/prepared statements to any user input used in SQL queries within the plugin code.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Verify PublishPress Authors plugin is installed
    Log into WordPress admin and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins, or use command: wp plugin list --name=publishpress-authors
    Affected if Plugin is not installed or not present in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, click on the plugin to view details and note the version number; alternatively, check the plugin main file header: wp plugin path/wp-authors/plugin.php and look for 'Version:' tag
    Affected if Installed version is 4.7.3 or any earlier version through the 4.x line
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In WordPress admin > Plugins, verify the PublishPress Authors plugin shows as 'Active', or run: wp plugin status publishpress-authors
    Affected if Plugin is active - only active plugins can execute their code and be exploited
  4. Identify if plugin handles user input
    Review any publicly accessible forms, shortcodes, or API endpoints created by PublishPress Authors that accept user input (author submissions, search, filter parameters)
    Affected if User-facing input fields exist and are processed by the plugin without sanitization

User is affected if PublishPress Authors plugin version 4.7.3 or earlier is installed and active, and the plugin processes user-supplied input that reaches database queries without prepared statements.

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 PublishPress Authors to the latest version after patches are released, or apply parameterized queries/prepared statements to any user input used in SQL queries within the plugin code.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

PublishPress Authors 4.7.4 or latest available version

  1. Check your current PublishPress Authors plugin version in WordPress admin under Plugins
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload or update directly from Plugins page
  3. Ensure you have a full backup of your WordPress site before updating
  4. Update PublishPress Authors to the latest version available in the WordPress plugin repository
  5. Verify the update completed successfully and test that the plugin functions normally
  6. Check that the new version is 4.7.4 or higher which should contain the fix for this SQL injection vulnerability

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-26886 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2025-26886 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data