CVE-2025-12197
📋 TL;DR
The Events Calendar WordPress plugin versions 6.15.1.1 through 6.15.9 contain a blind SQL injection vulnerability in the 's' parameter. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this to extract sensitive database information. All WordPress sites using affected plugin versions are vulnerable.
💻 Affected Systems
- The Events Calendar WordPress plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete database compromise including user credentials, personal data, and administrative access leading to site takeover.
Likely Case
Extraction of sensitive data like user emails, hashed passwords, and private event information.
If Mitigated
Limited data exposure if database permissions are properly restricted and sensitive data is encrypted.
🎯 Exploit Status
SQL injection is well-understood with many automated tools available. The blind nature requires more effort but is still easily exploitable.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.15.10
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3386042/the-events-calendar
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find The Events Calendar plugin. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download version 6.15.10+ from WordPress.org and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable parameter
allAdd code to disable or sanitize the 's' parameter input
Add to theme's functions.php: add_filter('tribe_events_rewrite_rules_custom', function($rules) { unset($rules['s']); return $rules; });
Web Application Firewall rule
allBlock SQL injection patterns targeting the events calendar endpoints
WAF specific - create rule to block requests containing SQL injection patterns to /events/* endpoints
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Temporarily disable The Events Calendar plugin
- Implement strict network filtering to limit access to the WordPress site
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin → Plugins → The Events Calendar → Version. If between 6.15.1.1 and 6.15.9, vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin list --name='the-events-calendar' --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm plugin version is 6.15.10 or higher in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL queries in database logs
- Multiple requests to /events/ with SQL-like parameters in 's'
- Increased error rates from WordPress
Network Indicators:
- Repeated POST/GET requests to events endpoints with SQL syntax in parameters
- Unusual traffic patterns to /wp-content/plugins/the-events-calendar/
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri_path="/events/" OR uri_path="/event/") AND (query_string="*s=*" AND (query_string="*UNION*" OR query_string="*SELECT*" OR query_string="*FROM*" OR query_string="*WHERE*"))