CVE-2025-52773 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability found in the hiecor HieCOR Payment Gateway Plugin, specifically affecting versions up to and including 1.5.11. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands, allowing attackers to inject malicious SQL code. This flaw enables unauthenticated remote attackers to manipulate backend database queries, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data modification, or deletion. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without any authentication or user interaction, as indicated by its CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N). The impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with attackers able to exfiltrate sensitive payment and customer data, corrupt transaction records, or disrupt payment processing services. Although no public exploits have been reported yet, the critical CVSS score of 9.8 reflects the high risk posed by this vulnerability. The plugin is commonly used in e-commerce platforms to facilitate payment processing, making it a valuable target for attackers aiming to compromise financial transactions or steal sensitive information. The vulnerability was reserved in June 2025 and published in November 2025, highlighting the need for immediate attention from affected organizations. Lack of available patches at the time of reporting necessitates alternative mitigation strategies until official fixes are released.

For European organizations, exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to severe consequences including unauthorized access to sensitive payment data, customer personal information, and transaction details. This can result in financial fraud, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations), reputational damage, and operational disruptions in payment processing systems. The integrity of financial records could be compromised, leading to inaccurate billing or loss of transaction data. Availability of payment services might be impacted by malicious database modifications or denial of service caused by injected queries. Given the critical nature of payment gateways in e-commerce and retail sectors, the threat could affect a broad range of industries including banking, online retail, and hospitality. The lack of authentication requirements and ease of exploitation increase the likelihood of automated attacks targeting vulnerable systems across Europe.

Organizations should immediately identify and inventory all instances of the HieCOR Payment Gateway Plugin in their environments. Until an official patch is released, implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules specifically designed to detect and block SQL Injection attempts targeting the plugin’s endpoints. Employ strict input validation and parameterized queries if custom modifications are possible. Monitor logs for unusual database query patterns or errors indicative of injection attempts. Restrict network access to the payment gateway plugin interfaces to trusted IP addresses where feasible. Conduct thorough security assessments and penetration tests focusing on SQL Injection vectors. Prepare for rapid deployment of vendor patches once available and prioritize patch management processes. Additionally, consider isolating the payment gateway database with minimal privileges to limit the impact of any successful exploitation.