CVE-2025-30998 is a high-severity SQL Injection vulnerability (CWE-89) affecting the WordPress plugin 'WP Links Page' developed by Rico Macchi, specifically versions up to 4.9.6. The vulnerability arises due to improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands, allowing an attacker with at least low privileges (PR:L) to inject malicious SQL code remotely (AV:N) without requiring user interaction (UI:N). The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.5, indicating a high impact primarily on confidentiality (C:H), with no direct impact on integrity (I:N) and only a low impact on availability (A:L). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. Exploitation could allow an attacker to extract sensitive data from the backend database, such as user credentials, configuration details, or other sensitive content stored by the plugin or the WordPress site. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the ease of exploitation due to network accessibility and low complexity makes this a significant threat. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have some level of privileges on the WordPress site, which might be obtained through other means or insider threats. The lack of available patches at the time of publication increases the urgency for mitigation. Given the widespread use of WordPress and its plugins across many websites, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk to affected sites, potentially leading to data breaches and unauthorized data disclosure.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a considerable risk, especially for those relying on the WP Links Page plugin in their WordPress deployments. The potential data leakage could expose personal data protected under GDPR, leading to regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Confidentiality breaches could compromise customer information, internal communications, or intellectual property. The vulnerability's exploitation could also serve as a foothold for further attacks, such as privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network. Organizations in sectors with high regulatory scrutiny, such as finance, healthcare, and government, are particularly at risk. Additionally, the compromise of websites could undermine trust and disrupt business operations. Since the vulnerability requires some level of authenticated access, organizations with weak internal access controls or insufficient user privilege management are more vulnerable. The lack of a patch means organizations must rely on alternative mitigations until an official fix is released.

1. Immediately audit and restrict user privileges within WordPress to the minimum necessary, reducing the risk of an attacker gaining the required privileges to exploit the vulnerability. 2. Implement Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns targeting the WP Links Page plugin endpoints. 3. Monitor logs for unusual database queries or access patterns indicative of SQL injection attempts. 4. Temporarily disable or remove the WP Links Page plugin if it is not essential, until a security patch is available. 5. Employ network segmentation to limit access to WordPress administrative interfaces to trusted IP addresses only. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on WordPress plugins to identify similar vulnerabilities proactively. 7. Stay informed about updates from the vendor and apply patches immediately once released. 8. Consider deploying database activity monitoring solutions to detect anomalous queries in real-time.