CVE-2025-10649 identifies a SQL Injection vulnerability in the Welcart e-Commerce plugin for WordPress, a popular e-commerce solution primarily used in Japan but also adopted in European markets. The vulnerability exists in all plugin versions up to and including 2.11.21 and stems from improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands (CWE-89). Specifically, the plugin fails to properly sanitize and escape user-supplied cookie values before incorporating them into SQL queries. This lack of input validation and absence of prepared statements allows authenticated users with Author-level privileges or higher to inject additional SQL commands into existing queries. Exploiting this flaw enables attackers to extract sensitive information from the underlying database, such as customer data, order details, or administrative credentials, without requiring user interaction. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5, reflecting a medium severity level, with a network attack vector, low attack complexity, and privileges required at the Author level. Although no public exploits have been reported yet, the vulnerability’s characteristics make it a credible threat, especially for websites that grant Author-level access to multiple users or have weak internal access controls. The absence of a patch at the time of reporting necessitates immediate mitigation efforts to reduce risk. The vulnerability’s impact is limited to confidentiality compromise, with no direct effect on data integrity or availability. Given the widespread use of WordPress and the plugin’s presence in European e-commerce sites, this vulnerability requires urgent attention from security teams.

For European organizations, this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive customer and business data stored in the database, including personal identifiable information (PII), payment details, and order histories. Such data breaches can result in regulatory penalties under GDPR, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. Since the exploit requires Author-level access, insider threats or compromised user accounts pose significant risks. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to conduct reconnaissance for further attacks or data exfiltration. The medium severity score reflects that while the vulnerability does not allow remote unauthenticated exploitation, the ease of exploitation by authenticated users and the potential data exposure make it a notable risk. E-commerce platforms are prime targets for cybercriminals aiming to steal financial data or disrupt business operations, increasing the threat landscape for affected European companies. Additionally, organizations may face compliance challenges and increased scrutiny from data protection authorities if breaches occur due to this vulnerability.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigation steps: 1) Immediately restrict Author-level and higher privileges to trusted personnel only, minimizing the number of users who can exploit this vulnerability. 2) Monitor and audit user activities and database queries for unusual patterns indicative of SQL injection attempts. 3) Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block SQL injection payloads targeting cookie parameters. 4) Apply principle of least privilege to database accounts used by the plugin, limiting data exposure if exploited. 5) Regularly update WordPress core and plugins; monitor vendor announcements for patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once released. 6) Conduct security awareness training for administrators and content creators to recognize suspicious activities. 7) Consider implementing additional input validation and sanitization at the application level as a temporary workaround. 8) Backup databases frequently and securely to enable recovery in case of compromise. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and proactive defense tailored to the vulnerability’s characteristics.