CVE-2025-2011[Depicter Slider] Securing WordPress against Slider Plugin SQL Injection

Protecting Your WordPress Site from the Depicter Slider SQL Injection Vulnerability

WordPress powers over 40% of all WEBSITES on the internet. That popularity makes it a prime target for ATTACKERS seeking to exploit any weak link—especially PLUGINS developed by third-party vendors. Recently, security researchers disclosed a high-severity SQL Injection vulnerability (CVE-2025-2011) in the Depicter Slider plugin (versions ≤ 3.6.1). This vulnerability allows UNAUTHENTICATED attackers to inject arbitrary SQL via the s parameter, potentially exposing or modifying your site’s DATABASE.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll:

• Explain the nature of SQL Injection and how it applies to Depicter Slider
• Walk through the exploitation scenario and potential impact on your site
• Offer practical mitigation steps, including UPDATES, hardening, and MONITORING
• Show how WP-Firewall’s MANAGED FIREWALL and VIRTUAL PATCHING can instantly protect you

Whether you’re a site owner, developer, or security enthusiast, this article equips you with the knowledge to defend against this emerging threat—without waiting for your host or plugin vendor.

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Table of Contents

1. Understanding SQL Injection
2. Overview of the Depicter Slider Plugin Vulnerability
3. Technical Deep Dive: How the ‘s’ Parameter is Exploited
4. Potential Impact & Real-World Scenarios
5. Detecting Signs of Compromise
6. Immediate Mitigation: Patching and Updates
7. Best Practices to Fortify Your Site
8. How WP-Firewall Safeguards You
9. Essential Protection with WP-Firewall Free Plan
10. Upgrading to Enhanced Security
11. Conclusion

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Understanding SQL Injection

SQL Injection remains one of the oldest—and unfortunately still most prevalent—WEB APPLICATION vulnerabilities. It occurs when user-supplied data is inserted directly into a DATABASE query without proper sanitization or parameterization. Attackers can manipulate the query structure to:

• Exfiltrate SENSITIVE DATA (usernames, passwords, private posts)
• Modify or DELETE RECORDS (defacement, data sabotage)
• Escalate privileges by writing MALICIOUS BACKDOORS into the database

Attack complexity varies: some injections require AUTHENTICATED access; others, like this Depicter Slider flaw, are UNAUTHENTICATED, meaning anyone can launch the attack without logging in.

Key reasons SQL Injection persists:

• Developers trusting user input instead of enforcing strict VALIDATION
• Legacy code built before modern security libraries became commonplace
• Features prioritizing flexibility (dynamic queries) over SAFETY

In the context of WordPress, plugins often introduce custom DATABASE queries—especially slider, form, or search modules—which present prime injection surfaces. The Depicter Slider plugin exposes such a surface through its s parameter used for searching and filtering slider items.

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Overview of the Depicter Slider Plugin Vulnerability

Plugin Name: Depicter Slider
Affected Versions: ≤ 3.6.1
Fixed Version: 3.6.2
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.3)
Attack Vector: Unauthenticated SQL Injection via s URL parameter (e.g., /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dp_slider_data&s=…)
Discovered By: Muhamad Visat
Public Disclosure: May 5, 2025

Depicter Slider is a popular plugin for creating responsive IMAGE SLIDERS and POPUPS. It exposes an AJAX endpoint (dp_slider_data) which accepts a search parameter s. In vulnerable versions, this parameter is concatenated directly into an SQL query—without any escaping or prepared statements—making it trivial to craft payloads such as:

/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dp_slider_data&s=' OR 1=1#

Such a payload returns all slider entries, but more malicious variants can UNION additional SELECT statements to extract USER CREDENTIALS, WP OPTIONS, or even write DESTRUCTIVE QUERIES.

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Technical Deep Dive: How the ‘s’ Parameter is Exploited

Below is a simplified representation of the vulnerable code in class-slider-data.php:

public function get_slider_data() { 
    global $wpdb; 
    $search = $_REQUEST['s']; // <-- no sanitization 
    $query = " 
        SELECT * 
        FROM {$wpdb->prefix}depict_slides 
        WHERE title LIKE '%{$search}%' 
    "; 
    $results = $wpdb->get_results($query); 
    wp_send_json_success($results); 
}

Key issues:

1. Direct concatenation of $_REQUEST['s'] into the SQL statement
2. No use of $wpdb->prepare() or parameter binding
3. Lack of capability checks—even UNAUTHENTICATED visitors can invoke this AJAX action

Exploit Walkthrough

1. Discover the endpoint
   Browse to ?action=dp_slider_data with no s parameter; responses are typically empty or contain all slides by default.
2. Inject tautology
   Append s=' OR '1'='1 to bypass any filtering and retrieve all rows.
3. Extract sensitive tables
   Use UNION SELECT to target WP users or options.s=' UNION SELECT user_login, user_pass, user_email, 1,2 FROM wp_users--

4. Automate extraction
   Attackers can script requests to retrieve ADMIN USERNAMES and hashed passwords, then crack them offline.

Demo Payload

/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dp_slider_data&s=' UNION ALL SELECT user_login, user_pass, user_email, 0x3a, 0x3a FROM wp_users--

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Potential Impact & Real-World Scenarios

A vulnerability rated CVSS 9.3 indicates CRITICAL IMPACT:

• Data Theft: Steal USER CREDENTIALS, stored API keys, personal data
• Site Compromise: Write MALICIOUS ENTRIES or toggle admin privileges
• Pivoting: Use DATABASE INFORMATION to target other systems
• Mass Exploitation: This flaw is trivial for AUTOMATED BOTS to discover and exploit

Real-World Attack Flow

1. Reconnaissance: Automated scanners identify the AJAX endpoint and parameter.
2. Payload Injection: Bots submit injection strings in parallel across millions of sites.
3. Extraction: Credentials and secrets are harvested to public leak forums or sold on DARKNET MARKETS.
4. Defacement or Malware: Attackers inject MALICIOUS JAVASCRIPT or backdoor admin users.

Because many WordPress sites run OUTDATED PLUGINS, this type of flaw can spread rapidly in the wild—compromising thousands of sites within hours of disclosure.

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Detecting Signs of Compromise

Early detection is vital. Watch for:

• Unexpected DATABASE QUERIES in your logs referencing dp_slider_data
• Spike in admin-ajax.php traffic with strange s values
• Unauthorized user-creation events or changes in WP OPTIONS
• DATABASE ANOMALIES: sudden insertion of suspicious rows
• Webshells or BACKDOORS in uploads or theme files

Use logging plugins or your host’s access logs to filter requests:

grep "admin-ajax.php.*dp_slider_data" access.log

Look for patterns like s=’ or %27%20OR%201=1.

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Immediate Mitigation: Patching and Updates

1. Update Depicter Slider to 3.6.2 or later
   The plugin author released a patch that wraps queries in $wpdb->prepare(), escaping the s parameter.
2. Temporarily disable the plugin if an update isn’t feasible immediately.
3. Restrict access to admin-ajax.php?action=dp_slider_data via IP allow/deny in your webserver.
4. Scan your database for newly created admin users or suspicious tables.

Note: Updating plugins is crucial—but if you can’t update right away, you need a FIREWALL RULE or VIRTUAL PATCH.

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Best Practices to Fortify Your Site

Beyond patching:

• Principle of Least Privilege
  Never grant administrator or edit_posts capabilities to untrusted users.
• HTTP Authentication
  Add extra credentials for WP admin-ajax endpoints.
• Database Backups
  Schedule frequent backups—automated and stored OFF-SITE.
• Security Headers
  Enable Content Security Policy, X-Frame-Options, and HSTS.
• Two-Factor Authentication
  Enforce MFA for all ADMINISTRATOR accounts.
• File Integrity Monitoring
  Detect unauthorized file changes in plugin directories.
• Periodic Security Audits
  Review custom code and third-party plugins before installation.

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How WP-Firewall Safeguards You

1. Managed Web Application Firewall (WAF)

WP-Firewall’s WAF analyzes every request to your WordPress site. Our rule sets include a dedicated signature for this Depicter Slider SQLi:

• Signature Detection: Sniffs the exact AJAX action and INJECTION PATTERNS.
• Blocking: Automatically drops MALICIOUS REQUESTS before they reach PHP.
• Logging & Alerting: You receive REAL-TIME ALERTS when an injection is blocked.

2. Malware Scanner & Removal

• Continuous Scanning: Daily scans of plugin, theme, and uploads folders.
• Immediate Cleanup: Remove known BACKDOORS, obfuscated code, and MALICIOUS INJECTIONS.
• Quarantine: Infected files are isolated, preventing further DAMAGE.

3. Virtual Patching (Pro Plan)

Even before plugin vendors release fixes, WP-Firewall can deploy VIRTUAL PATCHES:

• Instant Protection: Apply a WAF rule to sanitize inputs or disable vulnerable endpoints.
• Minimal Performance Impact: Rules operate at the edge, preserving your PAGE SPEED.
• Zero-Code Changes: No need to modify plugin files or deploy MAINTENANCE WINDOWS.

4. OWASP Top 10 Mitigation

Our managed firewall covers all OWASP Top 10 categories, including SQL Injection (A1). This means you’re protected not only against known Depicter Slider flaws, but also against future, similar injection attempts.

5. User-Friendly Dashboard

• Live Threat Feed: See ATTACKS BLOCKED in real time.
• Security Reports: Monthly summaries (Pro plan) showing blocked attempts, malware finds, and recommendations.
• One-Click Hardening: Enforce security headers, disable XML-RPC, lock file permissions.

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Essential Protection with WP-Firewall Free Plan

Designed for Site Owners Who Want Comprehensive Basic Security, At No Cost

Our Basic (Free) plan equips you with the following:

• Managed firewall with WAF signatures covering SQL Injection, XSS, CSRF, and more
• Unlimited BANDWIDTH—no extra fees for traffic spikes due to attack blocking
• Built-in MALWARE SCANNER with automatic quarantine
• Mitigation of OWASP Top 10 risks through preconfigured rules

Protect your site today by signing up for the WP-Firewall free plan:
https://my.wp-firewall.com/buy/wp-firewall-free-plan/

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Upgrading to Enhanced Security

If you require more advanced features, consider our Standard or Pro plans:

Feature	Free (Basic)	Standard	Pro
Automatic malware removal	✕	✓	✓
IP blacklist/whitelist (20)	✕	✓	✓
Monthly security reports	✕	✕	✓
Virtual patching	✕	✕	✓
Dedicated account manager	✕	✕	✓
Security optimization	✕	✕	✓
Managed WP service	✕	✕	✓

• Standard: $50/year—perfect for small businesses that need automated cleanup and custom IP rules.
• Pro: $299/year—ideal for agencies, high-traffic sites, and mission-critical applications.

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Conclusion

The SQL Injection vulnerability in Depicter Slider (≤ 3.6.1) underscores how a single insecure parameter can compromise an entire WordPress site. While immediate PATCHING of the plugin is the first step, your security posture should never rely solely on third-party vendors.

WP-Firewall offers a layered defense:

1. Managed WAF to BLOCK ATTACKS in real time
2. Malware SCANNING to detect & remediate infections
3. Virtual PATCHING (Pro) for zero-day protection

Don’t wait for the next exploit—implement robust, always-on protection today. Start with our FREE PLAN, then scale to Standard or Pro as your site grows and your security needs evolve.

By combining BEST PRACTICES, timely UPDATES, and WP-Firewall’s proven solutions, you can rest easy knowing your WordPress site is fortified against Depicter Slider SQL Injection and countless other THREATS.