CVE-2025-14050: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-14050 is an authenticated SQL Injection vulnerability in the Design Import/Export – Styles, Templates, Template Parts and Patterns plugin for WordPress. It affects all versions up to and including 2.2, and was published on December 13, 2025. The flaw allows attackers with administrator-level access to inject additional SQL queries via malicious XML file imports, enabling extraction of sensitive database contents. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.9 (Medium) (Red Hat CVE, Wordfence).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command), caused by insufficient escaping of user-supplied parameters and inadequate preparation of SQL queries within the plugin's XML import functionality (Wordfence). Specifically, the flaw resides in includes/importer.php around line 162, where imported XML data is passed into SQL queries without proper sanitization (WordPress Trac). Exploitation requires network access and administrator-level authentication, but no user interaction beyond the import action itself. The attack vector is network-based with low complexity, making it straightforward to execute once the preconditions are met.

Successful exploitation allows an authenticated administrator to append arbitrary SQL queries to existing database operations, enabling full extraction of sensitive information from the WordPress database — including user credentials, personal data, and site configuration secrets. The confidentiality impact is rated High, while integrity and availability are unaffected, meaning the attack is primarily a data exfiltration risk rather than a destructive one (Red Hat CVE, Wordfence). In multi-tenant or shared hosting environments, database exposure could extend to other sites sharing the same database instance.

No public exploit code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2025-14050 as of the available data. The EPSS score is approximately 0.024% (0.000240), indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term (Feedly). The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Exploitation is constrained by the requirement for administrator-level credentials, significantly limiting the attacker pool.

1. Gain Administrator Access: Obtain valid WordPress administrator credentials through phishing, credential stuffing, or other means, as this vulnerability requires authenticated access.
2. Prepare Malicious XML File: Craft a specially formatted XML import file containing SQL injection payloads in the fields processed by includes/importer.php (around line 162), such as injecting ' UNION SELECT user_login, user_pass, 1 FROM wp_users-- - into a relevant XML element.
3. Navigate to Import Feature: Log into the WordPress admin dashboard and locate the Design Import/Export plugin's import functionality.
4. Upload Malicious XML: Upload the crafted XML file through the plugin's import interface, triggering the vulnerable SQL query construction in importer.php.
5. Extract Database Contents: Observe the plugin's response or use blind SQL injection techniques (e.g., time-based or boolean-based) to enumerate and extract sensitive data such as usernames, hashed passwords, email addresses, and other database contents (Wordfence, WordPress Trac).

• Logs: WordPress access logs showing POST requests to the Design Import/Export plugin's import endpoint (/wp-admin/admin.php?page=design-import-export or similar) with unusual or large XML payloads; database error logs containing SQL syntax errors or unexpected UNION/SELECT statements.
• File System: Presence of suspicious XML files in the WordPress uploads or temp directories containing SQL keywords (e.g., UNION, SELECT, FROM, --).
• Database: Unexpected or anomalous query patterns in the MySQL slow query log or general query log, particularly UNION-based SELECT statements originating from the WordPress application user.

Users should update the Design Import/Export plugin to version 2.3 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability (WordPress Trac Changeset). The patch was made available via the WordPress plugin repository. As a temporary workaround, administrators can disable or deactivate the plugin until the update can be applied. Additionally, restricting administrator account access and enforcing strong, unique credentials reduces the risk of exploitation given the authentication requirement.

The vulnerability was assigned and disclosed by Wordfence, a leading WordPress security firm, as part of their threat intelligence program (Wordfence). It was also indexed by ENISA's European Vulnerability Database (EUVD-2025-203183) and tracked by Red Hat's CVE database. No significant broader media coverage or notable researcher commentary beyond standard vulnerability disclosure channels has been observed.