Quick Featured Images <= 13.7.3 - Authenticated (Editor+) SQL Injection via delete_orphaned
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 13.7.4
- Affected Plugin
- Quick Featured Images
- Affected Version
<= 13.7.3- CVSS
- 4.9Medium
- Weakness type
- CWE-89 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
- CVE
CVE-2025-11980
At a glance
CVE-2025-11980 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in the Quick Featured Images WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 13.7.3. It carries a CVSS score of 4.9 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Editor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 13.7.4; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2025, reported by Jonas Benjamin Friedli.
Vulnerability Overview
The Quick Featured Images plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the 'delete_orphaned' function in all versions up to, and including, 13.7.3 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 Editor-level access and above, to append additional SQL queries into already existing queries that can be used to extract sensitive information from the database, granted they can convince an author-level user or higher to add a malicious custom field value.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality.
CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Quick Featured Images <= 13.7.3 carries this weakness at delete_orphaned, and reaching it takes an account at Editor level or above. SQL injection happens when request data is concatenated into a query instead of being bound as a parameter, letting an attacker change the structure of the statement rather than just its values.
A working injection can read any table the database user can see, which on a WordPress install means user records, password hashes and session or API secrets stored in options. For Quick Featured Images the fix is 13.7.4: builds <= 13.7.3 are affected, anything from 13.7.4 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 13.7.4, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Editor access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Quick Featured Images 13.7.4 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Quick Featured Images
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