CVE-2024-0610 is a security vulnerability classified as a time-based blind SQL Injection affecting the Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway plugin for WordPress, developed by enartia. This plugin facilitates payment processing for WooCommerce stores using Piraeus Bank's payment infrastructure. The vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.6.5.1 due to improper neutralization of special elements in the 'MerchantReference' parameter. Specifically, the plugin fails to sufficiently escape or prepare this user-supplied input before incorporating it into SQL queries. As a result, an unauthenticated attacker can inject malicious SQL code that appends additional queries to the original database request. The time-based blind SQL Injection technique allows attackers to infer sensitive database information by measuring response delays, even without direct error messages or visible output. This can lead to unauthorized extraction of sensitive data such as customer information, transaction details, or payment credentials stored in the backend database. The vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction, increasing its risk profile. Although no public exploits are currently known in the wild, the presence of this flaw in a widely used payment gateway plugin integrated into WordPress e-commerce sites poses a significant risk to affected merchants. The lack of a patch or update at the time of disclosure further exacerbates the threat landscape.

For European organizations, particularly e-commerce businesses using WooCommerce with the Piraeus Bank payment gateway, this vulnerability could lead to severe data breaches involving customer payment information and personally identifiable information (PII). Compromise of payment data can result in financial fraud, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties under GDPR. The ability for unauthenticated attackers to exploit this flaw remotely increases the attack surface, potentially allowing mass exploitation across multiple merchants. Additionally, extraction of sensitive backend data could facilitate further attacks such as account takeover or fraudulent transactions. The disruption or manipulation of payment processing could also impact business continuity and customer trust. Given the strategic importance of secure payment processing in European digital commerce, this vulnerability poses a tangible risk to the confidentiality and integrity of financial transactions and customer data.

Immediate mitigation should focus on restricting access to the vulnerable parameter by implementing Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that detect and block suspicious SQL injection patterns targeting the 'MerchantReference' parameter. Organizations should conduct thorough input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied data, especially parameters involved in database queries. Until an official patch is released, merchants should consider disabling the Piraeus Bank WooCommerce Payment Gateway plugin or replacing it with alternative payment solutions that do not exhibit this vulnerability. Monitoring database query logs and web server logs for anomalous or time-delayed requests can help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege on database accounts used by the plugin to limit the potential impact of SQL injection. Regular backups of payment and customer data should be maintained to enable recovery in case of compromise. Finally, organizations should stay alert for updates from the vendor and apply patches promptly once available.